- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 27 May 2025 03:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the central and state governments on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of some of the provisions of the Waqf Act 1995. The apex court also tagged it with a similar petition filed by Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and others.
The plea was filed by a Delhi resident named Nikhil Upadhyay. While hearing the plea, the bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice A G Masih issued the notice and asked advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, the counsel for the petitioner, why the act was being challenged now.
"We will dismiss on the ground of delay. You are challenging the 1995 Act in 2025. Why should challenge to 1995 Act be allowed in 2025?" Live Law report quoted CJI Gavai.
Responding to it, advocate Upadhyay said that they were also challenging the amendments brought in 2013, which the court added was also delayed by 12 years.
Upadhyay also emphasised that the bench of former CJI Sanjiv Khanna, Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan was earlier hearing the Waqf (Amendment) 2025 matters before the CJI go retired and the incumbent CJI Gavai-led bench took over.
He added on April 17, the earlier bench had already agreed to hear the challenge to the 1995 Act separately and allowed those who had challenged the 2025 amendments to file their response to it.
The April 17 order added, "As a special case, liberty is granted to the petitioners, who have filed writ petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, to file their response to the said writ petitions."
The petitioner challenged the constitutional validity of several sections of the Waqf Act 1995 amended by the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, arguing that these provisions are against Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 27 of the Constitution.
The petitioner also argued that only Muslims have laws dealing with their religious properties, and other religions have no such laws. Hence, it was argued that the Wakf Act 1995 was discriminatory.
On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati was present in the court. She said that the court has not allowed a hearing on the challenge to the 1995 Act along with the petitions challenging the 2025 Amendment. However, she added, there is no objection if Upadhyay’s petition is tagged with the other petition by Jain challenging the 1995 Act.
