New Delhi [India], April 9 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Muhammad Izhar Asfi on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

Asfi, MLA from the Kochadhaman Assembly constituency in Bihar, said the provisions in the Act are not only unconstitutional for infringing the core constitutional guarantees and the principles of equality, religious freedom, and property rights but are also violative of the cardinal constitutional doctrine of non-retrogression of rights.

The plea filed through advocate Prakash Pandey stated that the sweeping amendments in the Act whereby non-Muslim individuals may now be appointed to the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards-constitute a grave infraction upon the institutional autonomy of the Muslim community in the governance of waqf properties consecrated for religious and charitable purposes.

'This intrusion stands in direct contravention of the rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 25, and 26 of the Constitution of India,' said the plea.

It further stated that the amendments, by enabling State-appointed non-Muslims to participate in, and potentially dominate, these religiously exclusive administrative bodies, fundamentally impair the community's right to religious self-governance.

'The amendments substantially erode the statutory safeguards previously afforded to Waqf institutions and their regulatory mechanisms, while simultaneously conferring disproportionate and unjustifiable advantages upon extraneous stakeholders and interest groups,' it stated.

Several petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the Act, contending that it was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violated their fundamental rights.

President Droupadi Murmu on April 5 gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was earlier passed by Parliament after heated debates in both Houses.

Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, MP and President of the Azad Samaj Party Chandra Shekhar Azad, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman Barq, President of the Islamic cleric's body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani, Kerala Sunni scholars' body Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema, Social Democratic Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League, and NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights have already approached the top court against the Act.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) also challenged the Act, saying it strongly objected to the amendments passed by Parliament for being 'arbitrary, discriminatory and based on exclusion'.

Manoj Jha and Faiyaz Ahmad, MP in Rajya Sabha from Bihar's RJD, have also challenged the Wakf (Amendment) Act, 2025 on the grounds that it facilitates large-scale government interference in Muslim religious endowments.

The ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, through its MP A Raja, who was a part of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Bill, also approached the apex court against the Act.

In his plea, Javed, who was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, said that the Act discriminates against the Muslim community by imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments.

Owaisi in his plea stated that the amended Act 'irreversibly dilute' the statutory protections afforded to Waqfs and their regulatory framework while conferring undue advantage upon other stakeholders and interest groups, undermining years of progress and setting back Waqf management by several decades.

Khan's plea stated that the Act curtails the religious and cultural autonomy of Muslims, enables arbitrary executive interference, and undermines minority rights to manage their religious and charitable institutions.

Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema contended that these amendments would distort the religious character of Waqfs while also irreversibly damaging the democratic process in the administration of Waqf and Waqf Boards.

Madani in his petition challenged various provisions of the Act terming them unconstitutional and destructive to the Waqf administration and jurisprudence in India.

His petition further said that several Waqf properties would be vulnerable due to the mandatory timelines for uploading details on the Portal and Database envisaged under the amendment, threatening the very existence of a large number of historical waqfs--particularly those created by oral dedication or without formal deeds.

The NGO submitted that the Act is not only unnecessary but also an alarming interference into the religious affairs of the Muslim community, diluting the fundamental purpose of Waqf, which is a practice deeply rooted in Quranic references. (ANI)