Plea in SC challenges constitutional validity of Waqf (Amendment) Bill

Highlights

A plea has been filed by Congress MP and party whip in Lok Sabha Mohammad Jawed before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

New Delhi: A plea has been filed by Congress MP and party whip in Lok Sabha Mohammad Jawed before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

Mohammad Jawed, the MP from Bihar's Kishanganj and member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, contended that the proposed legislation violates Articles 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice and propagate religion), 26 (freedom of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs), 29 (minority rights), and 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.

The Parliament passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha early on Friday. The Lok Sabha approved the Bill early on Thursday, after nearly 12 hours of debate, with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.

After being passed in both houses of Parliament, the proposed legislation will now be sent for the President's assent before it becomes a law amending the 1995 law governing Waqf properties.

The NDA government, which is projecting the Waqf Amendment Bill as one of the milestone decisions in the first year of Modi 3.0, is expected to notify it for implementation, soon after getting the President’s nod.

The concept of ‘Waqf’, rooted in Islamic laws and traditions, refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as mosques, schools, hospitals, or other public institutions.

Earlier in the day, Congress Rajya Sabha member and General Secretary in charge of party communications, Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, announced that the party will challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the top court. The Congress had vehemently opposed the Bill in both Houses of Parliament. The party has claimed that it was an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and was aimed at “polarising” and "dividing" the country on the basis of religion.

The government has, however, said that crores of poor Muslims will benefit from this legislation and in no way does it harm any single Muslim. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the legislation does not interfere with the Waqf properties, adding that the Modi government works with the vision of 'Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas'.