Supreme Court To Hear Petitions Challenging Waqf Act Today: Centre May Face Legal Scrutiny

New Delhi: As the Supreme Court is all set to hear a list of petitions challenging the constitutionality of the recently enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 today, April 16, opposition parties and Muslim bodies are hoping that the top court will assuage their concerns on several controversial provisions in the Act.

The petitions are scheduled to be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan at 2 pm.

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Prominent petitioners include Congress MP Md Jawed, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Indian Union Muslim League, YSRC Party, Communist Party of India, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party, TVK President & Tamil actor Vijay, SP MP Zia Ur Rehman, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind and Association for Protection of Civil Rights among others.

The Union Government has also filed a caveat, to ensure that no order or decisions should be passed against it without hearing their side. In addition, six BJP-ruled states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh, have filed intervention applications supporting the Waqf Amendment Act.

What Will Happen When Court Hears Petitions Challenging Constitutionality Of  Waqf Amendment Act?

Once the Supreme Court listed the plea challenging the constitutional validity of an Act passed by the government, the top court will conduct a legal scrutiny reviewing the law and specific provisions being challenged on constitutional grounds. Notably, the Court has the power to deem any law that contravenes fundamental rights under Article 13 of the constitution as void. There are precedents in which several laws and provisions have been contested before the apex court.

In exceptional cases, the Supreme Court has the power to grant an interim stay on the legislations passed by the government, which it had made in the now withheld controversial three farm laws. However, there are several petitions still pending before the top court that have challenged the legality and constitutionality of their provisions. One of them is the alleged discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Usually, after hearing the petitions, the Supreme Court issue notices to the Union Government and other relevant respondents seeking their response in the matter. After hearing arguments from all parties, the court can uphold the law, or strike the law down or the specific provisions as the court found unconstitutional. The court may also find interpretation of provisions to align them with constitutional principles or refer to a larger Constitution Bench if it finds the case has substantial questions of constitutional interpretation.

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Notably, in the Waqf Amendment Act, individuals and organizations have challenged several provisions on the grounds that they violate the fundamental rights of Muslims. Mohammad Hamdullah Sayeed, Member of Parliament from Lakshadweep, challenges the constitutional validity of Section 3E of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, on the grounds that it forces individuals like him, both Scheduled Tribe members under the Fifth Schedule and practicing Muslims, into a false binary between tribal and religious identity, arguing that the provision violates Articles 14, 25, 26, and 300A of the Constitution.

Daya Singh, a practicing Sikh and the President of Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Gurgaon, has challenged the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, contending that the amendments infringe upon his fundamental right to make charitable endowments across religious lines, a practice rooted in Sikh values.