New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh plea challenging constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, saying it cannot entertain “hundreds” of petitions on the issue.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar asked the counsel for petitioner Syed Ali Akbar to file an intervention application in pending five cases which will be taken up on May 5 for passing interim orders. “You withdraw this. We passed an order on April 17 saying only five petitions will be taken up for hearing,” the CJI said, adding, “It will be open for the petitioner to file an application in the pending petitions if so advised.”
On April 17, the bench decided to hear only five of the total number of pleas before it and titled the case: “In Re: Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025”.
About 72 petitions, including those by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the DMK, Anwar Basha former chairman Karnataka State Board of AUQAF represented by advocate Tariq Ahmed, Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed, were filed against the law. While appointing three lawyers as the nodal counsel, the bench asked the advocates to decide among themselves who was going to argue.
The petitioners were allowed to file their rejoinders to the Centre’s reply within five days of the service of the government’s response.
“We clarify that the next hearing (May 5) will be for the preliminary objections and for an interim order,” the bench said. The Centre assured the bench that it will neither denotify waqf properties, including waqf by user, nor make any appointments to the central waqf council & boards
till May 5.