In a significant legal move, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and Member of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi, has approached the Supreme Court challenging the recent amendments to the Waqf Act. The Wakf Amendment Bill, which has passed through both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, now awaits Presidential assent to be enacted into law.
Owaisi’s petition highlights a potential conflict with Article 26 of the Indian Constitution, which allows religious denominations to manage their own affairs. He argues that the Amendment strips the waqf of certain protections which are similarly provided to religious and charitable endowments of Hindu, Jain, and Sikh communities, allegedly violating the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.
The Amendment has also been criticized for infringing on the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, a right safeguarded under Article 30. Specifically, the petition contests new restrictions on who can establish a waqf and the exclusion of ‘waqf by user’, as well as the controversial inclusion of non-Muslims in the Waqf Council and on boards that administer waqf properties.
During the parliamentary debate, Owaisi voiced his concerns about these changes, emphasizing the discriminatory nature of the Bill against Muslims. “A Muslim will face restrictions on waqf property, and the encroacher will overnight become the owner. A non-Muslim will administer it, and this is a violation of Article 14,” he articulated.
Further compounding the legal challenges against the Bill, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed has also filed a plea in the Supreme Court. Jawed’s plea asserts that the Bill discriminates against Muslims by undermining their administrative control over waqf properties, violating multiple constitutional articles including those related to equality, religious freedom, minority rights, and the right to property.
The controversial Waqf Amendment Bill seeks to overhaul the existing Waqf Act of 1995, which governs the administration of religious endowments under Islamic law in India. The Bill proposes significant changes including renaming the Act to reflect its expanded objectives, redefining eligibility to declare a waqf, and altering the composition of the Waqf Council to include non-Muslim members.
