New Delhi: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president and actor-turned-politician Vijay has moved the Supreme Court, contesting the constitutional validity of the Waqf legislation. A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna will hear the matter on 16 April, along with more than a dozen related petitions.

The three-judge bench includes Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice KV Viswanathan, according to the Supreme Court’s website.

Owaisi, other leaders file petitions

Among those challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, is All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Other petitioners include Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan, the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, Arshad Madani, Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, Anjum Kadari, Taiyyab Khan Salmani, Mohd Shafi, Mohd Fazlurrahim and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha.

Some additional petitions are yet to be scheduled before the bench by the court registry.

Centre files caveat in Supreme Court

On 8 April, the Union government submitted a caveat in the Supreme Court, requesting that no order be passed without first hearing its side. A caveat is filed to ensure a party is heard before any order is issued.

The government had issued a notification for the Waqf (Amendment) Act on 8 April, following its passage in Parliament. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on 5 April. The Act was approved in the Lok Sabha with 288 votes in favour and 232 against, and later in the Rajya Sabha with 128 supporting and 95 opposing.

DMK, other political parties approach Supreme Court

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has approached the apex court through its deputy general secretary A Raja. In a statement, the party said, “Despite widespread opposition, the Waqf Amendment Bill was passed by the Union government without proper consideration of the objections raised by the members of the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) and the other stakeholders.”

The DMK said the immediate enforcement of the legislation harmed the rights of nearly 50 lakh Muslims in Tamil Nadu and 20 crore across the country.

Muslim organisations voice objections

Muslim bodies, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and the Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema — a Sunni Muslim religious organisation in Kerala — have each submitted petitions opposing the Act.

AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Ilyas, in a statement, said the petition “strongly objected to the amendments passed by Parliament for being arbitrary, discriminatory and based on exclusion.”

He added that the changes violated the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of conscience, the right to practise and propagate religion, and the right to establish and manage institutions for religious and charitable purposes. He also said the amendments “clearly revealed the government's intention to take complete control over the administration of Waqf, therefore, sidelining the Muslim minority from managing its own religious endowments.”

Further allegations of religious infringement

Congress MP Mohd Jawed, in his petition, argued that the Act introduced “arbitrary restrictions” on the management of Waqf properties, thereby affecting the religious independence of the Muslim community.

AIMIM leader Owaisi’s plea similarly stated that the legislation stripped Waqf bodies of protections previously afforded to them and to religious and charitable endowments of Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs.

The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, a non-governmental organisation, has also contested the Act’s constitutional standing in the Supreme Court.

AAP’s Delhi MLA Amanatullah Khan, in his petition, urged the court to strike down the legislation, calling it unconstitutional for violating “articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300-A of the Constitution.”

PTI inputs