The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has moved the Supreme Court against the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. AIMPLB filed the plea in the top court late April 6.
President Droupadi Murmu on April 5 gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament after heated debates in both houses.
Today the Supreme Court agreed to consider the urgent listing the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the newly Waqf Amendment Act of 2025.A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan took note of the submissions made by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for Maulana Arshad Madani, the President of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind.
Dr. SQR Ilyas, spokesperson of the Board, said in a press statement that the petition strongly objects to the amendments passed by Parliament, calling them arbitrary, discriminatory and based on exclusion. The Board asserted that the amendments not only violate the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India but also clearly reveal the government’s intention to take complete control over the administration of Waqf, thereby sidelining the Muslim minority from managing their own religious endowments.
In a press release, the board further said that the five-year requirement for a waqif (donor) to be a practicing Muslim contradicts both the Indian legal framework and Article 14 and 25 of the Constitution, as well as Islamic Shariah principles.
Dr. Ilyas further stated that the petition describes the law as discriminatory and inconsistent with Article 14 of the Constitution. It points out that the rights and protections afforded to the endowments of other religious communities—Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and Buddhists—have been denied to Muslim waqf Aawqaf. The Board has appealed to the Supreme Court, as the guardian of constitutional rights, to annul these controversial amendments, uphold the sanctity of the Constitution and protect the rights of the Muslim minority from being trampled upon.
The petition was settled by senior Supreme Court advocate M.R. Shamshad, with Advocate-on-Record Talha Abdul Rahman representing the Board. The petition was filed on behalf of the Board by its General Secretary, Maulana Mohammed Fazlurrahim Mujaddidi.
.Md Irshad Ayub is Founding English editor at millat times and Delhi-based freelance journalist.
