NEW DELHI: A number of cases challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, are currently being heard by a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan.
Referencing Articles 25 and 26, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, stated in his submission that, “What is sought through parliamentary legislation is to interfere with an essential and integral part of faith."
“If I want to set up Waqf, I have to show that I have been practicing Islam for five years. If I am born a Muslim, why would I do that?" Sibal said, referring to Section 3(r) of the 2025 Act—the definition of Waqf.
The Congress announced it would challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Bill (now an Act after the presidential assent) before the Supreme Court, as the legislation was passed in the Parliament in the first week of April.
The party had stated that it was intended to "polarize" and "divide" the country on the basis of religion and that it was an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution.
In his petition filed before the court, Congress MP and party whip in Lok Sabha Mohammad Jawed contended that the amendments violated Articles 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice and propagate religion), 26 (freedom of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs), 29 (minority rights), and 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.
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