Mugdha Das

Supreme Court hears petitions on Waqf Amendment Act

Digital Desk: The Supreme Court on Monday posted petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, for hearing before a bench headed by CJI-designate B R Gavai on May 15, a day by which Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna would have retired.

CJI Khanna said even for passing an interim order, it requires a lengthy hearing.

CJI Khanna-led bench said the Centre has raised some points on the registration of waqf properties that would require detailed consideration by the court.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing for the petitioners, along with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, agreed to the suggestion made by the CJI.

The three-judge bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna, J Sanjay Kumar and J KV Viswanathan was hearing on Monday the batch of five petitions that are now titled In Re the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 and other related fresh pleas on the issue.

The batch of pleas includes the one filed by AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

This comes weeks after the government paused two central aspects of the contentious law in the face of probing questions by the top court.

In the last hearing, the Union government had assured the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan, that it would neither denotify waqf properties, including “waqf by user,” nor make any appointments to the Central Waqf Council and boards till May 5.