Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Moves the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India against Waqf Amendment Act 2025
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Moves the SC against Waqf Amendment Act 2025
New Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has filed a writ petition before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
The petition (MOHAMMAD SALIM & ORS (PETITIONER) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA (RESPONDENT), filed by Prof Salim Engineer, Vice President of JIH, along with Maulana Shafi Madani and Inam ur Rahman, all senior office-bearers of Jamaat – raises grave concerns over the new legislation, asserting that the amendments infringe upon fundamental rights and dismantle the religious, charitable, and community-oriented character of waqfs in India.
The petition seeks to strike down the amendments as unconstitutional, citing violations of Articles 14, 15, 16, 25, 26, and 300A of the Indian Constitution.
Major Concerns Raised in the Petition:
1. Violation of Fundamental Rights:
The amended Act alters the very definition and structure of waqf, placing undue restrictions on who can create a waqf and how it can be administered. For instance, the law now requires the dedicator to prove that they have practiced Islam for at least five years—a vague and arbitrary requirement not grounded in Islamic law, which may exclude women, reverts, and many genuine contributors from exercising their religious freedom. This directly infringes upon Articles 25 and 15, which guarantee freedom of religion and protection against discrimination.
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2. Erosion of Waqf Board Autonomy:
The new legislation disbands elected Waqf Boards, replacing them with government-appointed functionaries, including non-Muslims and officials without requisite knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence. This fundamentally violates the community’s right to manage its own religious institutions as guaranteed by Article 26. Furthermore, the amendment removes the need for the CEO of the Board to be a Muslim, thereby undermining denominational representation.
3. Unjust Acquisition of Waqf Properties:
Section 3D of the Act has been introduced hastily and arbitrarily to declare all waqf properties within ASI-protected monuments as void, regardless of their historical religious significance. This provision essentially nullifies Section 6 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, for waqf properties, creating a discriminatory framework where only Muslim religious monuments are stripped of their religious character and governance. Moreover, the law enables encroachers to claim adverse possession of waqf land by applying the Limitation Act, 1963 retroactively, risking further loss of Muslim charitable property.
4. Failure of Community Consultation:
Despite the wide-ranging and deeply impactful nature of the amendments, they were passed in haste, with last-minute changes such as Sections 3D and 3E added during parliamentary proceedings through the suspension of procedural rules. Crucially, the community – including JIH office bearers who appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee – had raised serious objections, which were ignored in the final enactment. This blatant disregard for stakeholder engagement violates democratic principles and the spirit of participatory governance.
Additional Legal Arguments:
The Act invalidates the concept of waqf by user – a judicially accepted principle affirmed in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid judgment, among others -thereby extinguishing historical waqfs without written deeds or documents. It equates government revenue records (Record of Rights) as conclusive proof of ownership, despite judicial precedent holding that such entries are not determinative of title, especially in the case of waqf properties.
The judgments in Lal Shah Baba Dargah, Sheikh Yusuf Chawla, and Ramjas Foundation are relied upon to argue that religious endowments must be judged with reference to community usage and historic continuity, not government records alone.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind reiterates that waqf is an integral part of Islamic faith and Indian heritage that is deeply tied to charity, education, and social welfare. Any attempt to weaken its religious and community character is not only unconstitutional but also morally unjust. JIH calls upon civil society, legal experts, and citizens committed to pluralism and justice to raise their voices against the arbitrary dismantling of waqf protections and to stand in solidarity with this constitutional challenge.
Issued by:
Salman Ahmad
National Assistant Secretary, Media Dept.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, HQRS
Mobile: 7290010191
Address: D-321, Abul Fazl Enclave, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi – 110025
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