AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress MP Mohammad Jawed on Friday moved the Supreme Court, challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The legislation, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament, is now awaiting presidential assent.
According to news agency IANS, Owaisi argued in his petition that the provisions of the bill “blatantly violate the fundamental rights of Muslims and the Muslim community”. Notably, Owaisi on Wednesday night tore a copy of the the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha in a symbolic protest.
Participating in the debate on the bill, he cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi while he was in South Africa and said, “If one reads history, one would find what Mahatma Gandhi had said about the laws of white South Africa. Mahatma Gandhi had said ‘My conscience doesn’t accept this’ and he tore it up.” The Hyderabad MP remarked, “Like Gandhi, I am also tearing up this law. This is unconstitutional. The BJP wants to create divisiveness in this country in the name of temples and mosques. I condemn this and I request you to accept the 10 amendments.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the bill’s constitutionality. Speaking to news agency ANI, Jawed said, “Several people in India will file this petition; several parties will do this… In the Parliament, everyone in the Opposition said that this is unconstitutional. This is a religious body – you are providing freedom to non-Muslims… How can you snatch away our right? … How can you do this violation? If you have numbers, it doesn’t mean you get passed anything you passed and do something unlawful… We have challenged this. We hope that the Supreme Court will take cognisance of this and this will be repealed (Bill) at the earliest.”
As per news agency PTI, Jawed’s plea, filed through advocate Anas Tanwir, alleged that the bill imposes arbitrary restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, thereby undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community. It further argued that the legislation discriminates against Muslims by imposing restrictions not applicable to other religious endowments.
The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 votes in favour and 95 against. In the Lok Sabha, it was cleared in the early hours of 3 April, with 288 members supporting it and 232 opposing.
‘Let Them Go To Court’: BJP MPs Ask Oppn To Refrain From ‘Provoking Minority Community’
Responding to the Opposition’s criticism, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserted that they were free to challenge the bill in court but cautioned against what it called “petty politics of appeasement”. The party urged opposition leaders to avoid provoking members of the minority community.
“The main opposition party also said it will continue to resist the Modi government’s assaults on the principles, provisions and practices enshrined in the Constitution. Some legal experts in the Congress are repeatedly saying that it (the Bill) is unconstitutional and they will approach the court. Let them go to court. Nobody is stopping them,” senior BJP leader and former Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said while speaking to reporters at the Parliament complex, as quoted by PTI.
He added, “They had gone to court on the issue of triple talaq. They also tried to stop the (construction of temple at) Ram Janmabhoomi. They even called (scrapping of) Article 370 unconstitutional. The Waqf Bill is completely constitutional.”
Prasad defended the legislation by stating that the Constitution empowers the government to enact laws for the upliftment of women and backward communities. “The Bill seeks to ensure the welfare of Muslims, including women,” he said. He further remarked, “Given the mischief they do for vote bank politics, the country is not going to listen to them.”
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma also criticised the opposition’s stance. He said, “It is the duty of the opposition parties to accept the Bill as it has been passed by Parliament, and refrain from provoking the minority community members on the issue.”
Sharma added that it was up to the opposition whether they wanted to approach the Supreme Court or protest on the streets, but cautioned, “The opposition should refrain from indulging in petty politics.”
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