Supreme Court to hear pleas against Waqf Amendment Act, including of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, on Wednesday

The Supreme Court will on Wednesday, April 16, hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi's petition is also among the 10 pleas listed before a three-judge bench comprising the CJI and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the submissions of advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain that a fresh plea was filed and the same be listed for hearing.

"All matters where mentioning slips are given, we give dates mostly within a week,” the CJI said.

The fresh plea, mentioned by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, was filed by Hari Shankar Jain and one Mani Munjal against the Union of India, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Central Waqf Council.

The plea challenges the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995 as amended by Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 …as those provisions violate Articles 14, 15, 21, 25,26,27 and 300A of the Constitution of India as it creates an "imbalance and disharmony in the Indian society" by offering "undue advantages" to the Muslim community.

It said the Waqf Boards, through these legal provisions, have gained excessive powers leading to large-scale occupation of government and private lands across the country.

Meanwhile, the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 has also sparked violence in parts of Bengal amid protests by various Muslim groups. Following that, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "inciting violence" by her remarks asking people to protest against the Waqf Act and declaring that she will not implement it in her state.

Rijiju also said that the amended Waqf Act was not aimed at the Muslim community but was intended to correct "past mistakes", and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "inciting violence" in her state through her opposition to the implementation of the law.

The Waqf Bill, passed by the Parliament, received the assent of the President on April 5.

The ruling NDA has strongly defended the legislation as beneficial for minorities, while the opposition has described it as "anti-Muslim".