The Supreme Court on Friday refused to consider a new petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. A bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Vishwanathan will hear the petitions filed on the issue on May 5.
The bench had earlier said that it would hear only five of the more than 70 petitions. The bench again said today that it would not consider a new petition on the issue. “If you have some additional basis, you can file an intervention petition.”
The bench on 29 April refused to consider 13 petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Act. The bench had said, “We will no longer increase the number of petitions … it will increase and it will be difficult to handle them.”
On April 17, the Central Government assured the Supreme Court that it would neither indulge in Waqf’s properties, including ‘Waqf by User’ by May 5 nor would any appointment to the Central Waqf Council and Board. About 72 petitions were filed against this law.
These included All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulma-e-Hind, Dravid Munnetra Kasam (DMK) and Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhhi and Mohammad Javed.
The court appointed three lawyers as nodal lawyers and asked them to decide who will present the arguments. The bench said, “We clarify that the next hearing (May 5) will be for initial objections and interim orders.”
