New Delhi [India], April 9 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Muhammad Izhar Asfi has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, becoming the latest in a series of opposition voices raising constitutional concerns over the controversial law.
Asfi, the MLA from Kochadhaman constituency in Bihar, contends that the new amendments infringe upon religious freedom, equality, property rights, and the autonomy of religious institutions as guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 25, and 26 of the Constitution.
Key Concerns Raised
Filed through advocate Prakash Pandey, the plea primarily objects to the inclusion of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards, calling it a violation of the community’s right to religious self-governance.
“The amendments constitute a grave infraction upon the institutional autonomy of the Muslim community,” the petition states, arguing that this intrusion dilutes the religious character of Waqf institutions and allows external, potentially hostile influence in their administration.
The plea also warns against erosion of statutory safeguards and claims the changes confer undue advantages to extraneous interest groups, undermining the purpose of Waqf as a religious and charitable endowment rooted in Islamic tradition.
Wave of Opposition
The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, received Presidential assent on April 5, following intense debate in both Houses of Parliament. Since then, multiple petitions have reached the apex court, with challengers including:
- Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi
- AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi
- AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan
- Azad Samaj Party President Chandra Shekhar Azad
- Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq
- Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani
- Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema, and several NGOs like the Association for Protection of Civil Rights
Even the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, through MP A Raja, who served on the Joint Parliamentary Committee, has filed a petition opposing the Act.
Broader Allegations
Petitioners across the board allege that the law:
- Discriminates against the Muslim community
- Enables government interference in religious institutions
- Undermines minority rights to manage their own endowments
- Threatens the historical and undocumented waqf properties due to mandatory digitization requirements
Many argue that the amendments reverse decades of progress in waqf administration and violate secular principles enshrined in the Constitution.
The Supreme Court is now expected to hear the cluster of petitions challenging the Act, which could set the stage for a major constitutional debate on the autonomy of religious institutions, minority rights, and state interference.
(ANI)
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