New Delhi

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday (May 5, 2025) a batch of pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act's constitutional validity, weeks after the government paused two central aspects of the contentious law in the face of probing questions by the top court.

Earlier, the Central government had temporarily stayed two contentious provisions of the law given the questions raised by the court. On April 17, the Centre had assured the Supreme Court that it would neither de-notify properties falling under the category of “Waqf by user” nor make new appointments in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards till May 5.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar, and Justice KV Viswanathan that the law has been passed after going through the full constitutional process of Parliament, hence it should not be suspended without hearing the government’s stand.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court clarified that properties already registered as "endowment by user" or declared as endowment through notification will not be interfered with till the next hearing. The court gave the central government a week to file its initial response and fixed the next hearing for May 5. The matter will now be presented before the constitution bench as a group of five petitions, one of which has been filed by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi.

The central government, in an affidavit filed on April 25, defended the amended law, telling the court that it was not appropriate for the court to impose a blanket ban on a law passed by Parliament.

The government termed the principle of “endowment by user” as a “historical and necessary arrangement”, under which properties that have been used for a religious or charitable purpose for a long time are considered endowments, even if there is no formal endowment certificate for them. The government also claimed that there has been a 116% increase in endowment lands after the 2013 amendment, which in some cases may have resulted in illegal encroachment on private and government lands.

According to the government, “Registration of endowment properties was mandatory since 1923, despite this, some individuals made unauthorized claims on private and government lands under the pretext of ‘endowment by user’.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has accused the government of submitting false and misleading figures in the Supreme Court, and the board has demanded action against the officer who filed the affidavit. The board says that calling the increasing number of waqf properties “shocking” amounts to a distortion of facts.

The Supreme Court recently clarified that it will hear only five petitions out of the more than 70 petitioners in the matter, and fresh petitions will not be entertained.

Five petitions that the Supreme Court will hear on May 5 include those of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani, All India Muslim Personal Law Board general secretary Muhammad Fazal-ur-Rahim, Manipur National People’s Party MLA Sheikh Noor-ul-Hasan, All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen president and Hyderabad Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi, and Muhammad Jamil Merchant. 

Maulana Arshad Madani is a prominent Islamic scholar and is considered an important voice of the Muslim community across the country. Mohammad Fazal-ur-Rahim is playing an active role in religious and legal matters as the General Secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Sheikh Noor-ul-Hasan is an MLA from Manipur, while Owaisi is a senior parliamentarian.

The AIMPLB on Sunday launched a nationwide movement under the banner 'Save Waqf, Save Constitution,' calling the amendment a direct threat to secularism and the rights of minority communities.

The AIMPLB has accused the central government of prioritising communal interests over constitutional values and has announced to stage nationwide protests until July 7, said an official statement.

Maulana Gayas Ahmed Rashadi, a member of the AIMPLB, spoke to ANI and said, "The progress of a country depends on justice for its citizens. If a country's central government does not ensure justice for all communities, classes, and individuals, and does not recognise their fundamental rights or agree to grant them, then neither the government will be strong nor the country will succeed. Our nation is composed of various religions and communities, and when the Constitution was established, principles were laid down to protect the fundamental rights of all religious and social groups."

"This collection of principles is known as the Constitution. However, the central government has prioritised communalism for its political interests and has passed the Waqf Amendment Act in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The country is now divided into two camps- secularism and communalism," he said.

Adding further, he said, "The All India Muslim Personal Law Board serves as an exemplary platform that represents secular and justice-oriented political parties. It also provides representation to the Dalits, who were pushed into social degradation by the upper caste. Additionally, it includes representatives of various Islamic sects and schools of thought. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the President of the Board, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, along with board members, especially Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi MP, are actively opposing the Waqf Amendment Act."

As per an official release from the AIMPLB, the Board has decided that the struggle for rightful claims will continue until the Act is withdrawn.

As the first phase of the movement, protests have been planned nationwide from April 10 to July 7, and are being successfully conducted nationwide, bringing a ray of hope to the ''Lights Off Protest 2025," in various forms. 

The release said that the campaign "'Save Waqf, Save Constitution" protest rallies are being held across the country, and the momentum is growing.

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"It appears that this movement will intensify in the coming days. A round-table meeting will be held in Hyderabad on May 18, where selected personalities will consult and give important messages to further strengthen this movement. Similar round-table meetings will be held in all districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh," said the release.