New Delhi [India]: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Muhammad Izhar Asfi has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The legislation, which recently received Presidential assent, has drawn widespread opposition for allegedly infringing on minority rights and institutional autonomy.
Asfi, who represents the Kochadhaman Assembly constituency in Bihar, contended in his plea that the amended Act violates the fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 15, 25, and 26 of the Constitution. The plea, filed through advocate Prakash Pandey, argues that allowing non-Muslims to be appointed to the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards undermines the Muslim community’s right to religious self-governance and disrupts the sanctity of Waqf institutions.
“The amendments erode statutory safeguards previously afforded to Waqf institutions and unjustifiably empower extraneous interest groups,” the plea stated.
The petitioner also argued that the Act violates the doctrine of non-retrogression of rights, asserting that the changes set a dangerous precedent by weakening institutional autonomy and religious freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution.
The amended Act has sparked a legal storm, with multiple petitions already filed by a range of political leaders, parties, and organizations. Petitioners include Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, SP MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq, Azad Samaj Party President Chandra Shekhar Azad, and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), among others.
These petitions collectively argue that the law disproportionately targets Waqf institutions, imposes arbitrary oversight, and introduces governance models not applied to religious institutions of other faiths.
“The Act is arbitrary, discriminatory, and facilitates large-scale government interference in Muslim religious endowments,” stated Manoj Jha and Faiyaz Ahmad, RJD MPs from Bihar, in their separate petitions.
Religious bodies such as Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind and Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema have also opposed the Act, warning that it could distort the religious character of Waqfs and damage longstanding administrative frameworks. One petition expressed concern that the new mandatory digital portal requirements could jeopardize the existence of Waqfs established without formal documentation.
The NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights described the Act as “an alarming interference into the religious affairs of the Muslim community,” asserting that it undermines Quranic traditions integral to the concept of Waqf.