NEW DELHI, 8 APRIL

The Supreme Court would likely to hear a batch of pleas on 15 April, challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

The Centre, however, on Tuesday filed a caveat in the apex court and sought a hearing before any order was passed in the matter.

Caveat is filed by a party in the high courts and the apex court to ensure that no orders are passed without hearing it.

A Government notification, in the meantime, said Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which was passed by Parliament last week, comes into force on Tuesday.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (14 of 2025), the Central Government hereby appoints the 8th day of April, 2025 as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force," the Ministry of Minority Affairs notification said.

Over 10 petitions, including those by politicians and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, were filed in the top court challenging the validity of the newly-enacted law.

Lawyers privy to the development said the petitions were likely to be listed for hearing before a bench on 15 April though it is not reflected on the apex court website as of now.

On 7 April, a bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna assured senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, to consider listing the petitions.

President Droupadi Murmu on 5 April gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament after heated debates in both houses.

The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was cleared by the Lok Sabha with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, RJD MPs Manoj Jha and Faiyaz Ahmad, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan have also filed petitions in the apex court challenging the validity of the Act.

The AIMPLB filed the plea in the top court late 6 April.

In a press statement, SQR Ilyas, the AIMPLB, said the petition strongly objected to the amendments passed by Parliament for being "arbitrary, discriminatory and based on exclusion".

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind also filed a petition in the apex court, claiming it was a "dangerous conspiracy" to strip Muslims of their religious freedom.

In its separate plea filed in the top court, Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, a religious organisation of Sunni Muslim scholars and clerics in Kerala, has claimed the Act was a "blatant intrusion" into the rights of a religious denomination to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.

In a separate plea, Owaisi said the bill took away from Waqfs various protection which are accorded to Waqfs and Hindus, Jain and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.

NGO Association for the Protection of Civil Rights also filed a petition in the apex court challenging the constitutional validity of the Act.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan sought the law declared as unconstitutional, being violative of "Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300-A of the Constitution".