New Delhi [India], April 4 (ANI): Congress MP Mohammad Jawed has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, saying it was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violates their fundamental rights.
The bill passed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha now awaits President Droupadi Murmu’s assent to become an act.
The plea said the bill discriminates against the Muslim community by imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments.
Javed was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The petition filed through advocate Anas Tanwir has contended that the bill violates Article 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice religion), 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs), 29 (minority rights) and 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.
“The bill imposes arbitrary restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, thereby undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community,” it added.
The bill introduces restrictions on the creation of Waqf based on the duration of one’s religious practice, according to the plea.
“Such a limitation is unfounded in Islamic law, custom or precedent and infringes upon the fundamental right to profess and practice religion under Article 25. Additionally, the restriction discriminates against individuals who have recently converted to Islam and wish to dedicate property for religious or charitable purposes, thereby violating Article 15 of the Constitution,” it added.
“For instance, while Hindu and Sikh religious trusts continue to enjoy a degree of self-regulation, the amendments to the Wakf Act, 1995, disproportionately increase state intervention in Waqf affairs. Such differential treatment amounts to a violation of Article 14 in addition to the introduction of arbitrary classifications that lack a reasonable nexus to the objectives sought to be achieved, making it impermissible under the doctrine of manifest arbitrariness,” the petition submitted.
It further added that the amendment to the composition of the Waqf Board and the Central Waqf Council mandates inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf administrative bodies, which is an “unwarranted interference” in religious governance, unlike Hindu religious endowments, which remain exclusively managed by Hindus under various state enactments.
“This selective intervention, without imposing similar conditions on other religious institutions, is an arbitrary classification and violates Articles 14 and 15,” the petition stated.
The enhanced role of state authorities in Waqf administration impinges on the right of the Muslim community to manage its institutions, it said.
“The bill shifts key administrative functions, such as the power to determine the nature of Waqf properties, from the Waqf Board to the District Collector,” said the petition, adding that “this transfer of control from religious institutions to government officials dilutes the autonomy of Waqf management and contravenes Article 26(d).”
It also claimed that the bill modifies the process of dispute resolution by altering the composition and powers of Waqf Tribunals. “It reduces representation of individuals with expertise in Islamic law, influencing the adjudication of Waqf-related disputes,” the petition submitted.
This change disproportionately affects willingness to resort to legal recourse through specialised tribunals, in contrast to the robust protections provided to other religious institutions under their respective endowment law, the plea further claimed. (ANI)
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