Waqf Act comes into force; SC likely to hear pleas on April 15

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, is likely to hear petitions challenging the latest amendments made to the Waqf law on April 15. The hearing date is a tentative one, automatically allotted by the computerised mechanism. The exact date will be known only when the top court publishes its cause list.

The Centre on Tuesday filed a caveat in the apex court, seeking a hearing before passing any order on the pending batch of writ petitions challenging the Act.

On Monday, CJI Sanjiv Khanna had said he will consider listing the petitions for hearing. The CJI conveyed this to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who brought up the matter before a SC bench presided by him. Sibal said a petition was filed by Maulana Arshad Madani, president of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, a body of Muslim clerics.

Several petitions have been filed before the SC challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which received the President’s assent on April 5.

The petitioners also include Lok Sabha MPs Asaduddin Owaisi and Mohammad Jawed, Indian Union Muslim League, DMK’s A Raja, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, Muslim clerics body Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Association for Protection of Civil Rights among others.

The petitioners argue that the Act is “manifestly arbitrary, perpetuates discrimination on the grounds of religion, violates the Shariat Act and strips the Muslim community of the right to manage its own religious institutions”.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was cleared by the Lok Sabha with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.