The All India Association of Jurists (AIAJ), a community of lawyers, former judges and law enthusiasts, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
The plea, first to be filed by the legal fraternity, termed the Act ‘unconstitutional’ and sought the striking down of the law.
Filed by EV Abdul Gafoor, General Secretary of AIAJ through Advocate Sriram Parakkat, the instant writ petition contended that several provisions of the 2025 Act were ultra vires of the Constitution being violative of several fundamental rights available to the Indian citizens, such as equality; right to religion; right to establish, manage own institutions; and the right to property.
Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petition assailed the constitutional validity of the 2025 Act, stating that it fundamentally distorted the nature, legal protection and religious autonomy of waqfs as envisaged under the parent statute – the Waqf Act, 1995, and protected by the Constitution.
The impugned legislation has introduced sweeping structural changes, which not only aim to erode the denominational character of waqf administration but also impose disproportionate executive control, thereby violating the core constitutional guarantees enshrined under Articles 14, 15, 16, 25, 26 and 300A of the Constitution, it noted.
The plea further contended that at the heart of the challenge were Sections 3D and 3E, inserted into the principal Act through ministerial amendments during parliamentary debate, bypassing the scrutiny of the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Section 3D retrospectively removed the waqf status from properties declared as ancient monuments under the 1958 Act, thus extinguishing centuries-old waqfs such as mosques and dargahs – a direct affront to the community’s rights under Articles 25 and 26.
This legislative targeting was discriminatory, especially as similarly situated Hindu religious sites retained their religious character despite ASI protection, thereby breaching the equality and non-discrimination guarantees under Articles 14 and 15, it noted.
The petition claimed that the complete overhaul of the representative character of the waqf boards was equally destructive since it replaced the elected representation, including from mutawallis, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Bar with a wholly-nominated regime, stripping the Boards of their community-based democratic legitimacy.
Permitting even non-Muslim members and removing the requirement for the CEO to be a Muslim, as well as bypassing the Board in the appointment process, represented an alarming encroachment upon the community’s right to self-governance under Article 26, it added.
The petition will be listed with other pleas already filed in the Apex Court challenging the waqf amendments.
The post All India Association of Jurists moves Supreme Court challenging Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 appeared first on India Legal.