Asaduddin Owaisi moves Supreme Court against Waqf Amendment Bill, says law discriminates against Muslims, undermines Waqf autonomy.

Hostile discrimination: Asaduddin Owaisi moves Supreme Court against Waqf Bill

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi has challenged the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Supreme Court, calling it discriminatory and unconstitutional. Owaisi's petition argues the law violates minority rights and undermines waqf autonomy.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Asaduddin Owaisi moves Supreme Court over Waqf bill
  • Says amendment constitutes “hostile discrimination” against Muslims
  • Plea says judiciary must protect minority from majority’s tyranny

AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has moved Supreme Court, challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, calling it discriminatory and a violation of the fundamental rights of Muslims.

The bill, passed in the Lok Sabha on April 3 and cleared in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour, has come under sharp criticism from several quarters of the Muslim community.

Filed through advocate Lzafeer Ahmad, Owaisi’s plea argues that the new law strips waqfs of legal protections that continue to apply to Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments. This, the petition states, amounts to “hostile discrimination” against Muslims and violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion.

“The amendment takes away protections from waqfs while retaining them for other religious endowments,” the plea states, adding that such selective treatment is unconstitutional.

Calling on the apex court to act as a “sentinel on the qui vive,” the petition says it is the judiciary’s constitutional duty to protect minorities from the “tyranny of the majority” and safeguard the rights granted under Part III of the Constitution.

During the debate in the Lok Sabha, Owaisi termed the bill as an “attack on the faith and religious practices of Muslims.” In a dramatic protest, Owaisi symbolically ‘tore’ the bill, likening his act to Mahatma Gandhi’s defiance of unjust laws.

“A Muslim will face restrictions on waqf property, and the encroacher will overnight become the owner. A non-Muslim will administer it—this is a violation of Article 14,” he had said.