Supreme Court Declines Fresh Plea Against Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, reiterated that only five of the over 70 pending petitions will be heard.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a fresh petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, along with Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, reiterated that only five of the over 70 pending petitions will be heard.
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Only Intervention Applications Allowed, Says CJI
Chief Justice Khanna told the counsel for petitioner Mohammad Sultan that if there are any additional grounds, an intervention application can be filed instead of a fresh petition. This stance follows the court’s April 29 decision to reject 13 similar pleas.
Court Warns Against Petition Overload
“We are not going to increase the number of petitions now… This will keep on piling and would become difficult to handle,” the bench stated, underscoring the need to streamline the process.
Matter Titled ‘In Re: Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025’
On April 17, the court had decided to club the matter under the title “In Re: Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025” and limit hearings to five selected cases. During that session, the Centre assured that it would not denotify any waqf properties or make appointments to the Central Waqf Council and boards until May 5.
72 Petitions Filed Against the Act
The Waqf (Amendment) Act has drawn legal challenges from around 72 petitioners, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, DMK, and Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed.
Court Appoints Nodal Counsels
The bench has appointed three lawyers as nodal counsels and asked them to decide among themselves who will argue the matter. “We clarify that the next hearing (May 5) will be for preliminary objections and for an interim order,” the court said.
Act Passed Amid Heated Debate in Parliament
The law, which received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on April 5, was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 votes in favour and 95 against. It cleared the Lok Sabha with 288 supporting and 232 opposing the bill.
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