Actor Vijay moves Supreme Court against Waqf Act

CHENNAI: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025.

Several petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the Act, contending that it was discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violated their fundamental rights.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on April 4 with 128 votes in favour and 95 against. The Lok Sabha had earlier cleared the Bill following a lengthy debate, with 288 members voting in favour and 232 opposing it.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Bill on April 5, making it a law.

Among those who have moved the court against the Waqf (Amendment) Act are All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, and Azad Samaj Party chief and MP Chandra Shekhar Azad.

Others include Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman Barq; Maulana Arshad Madani, President of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind; the Kerala-based Sunni scholars’ body Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema; the Social Democratic Party of India; the Indian Union Muslim League; and the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also challenged the Act, saying it strongly objected to the amendments passed by Parliament for being “arbitrary, discriminatory and based on exclusion”.

Rajya Sabha MPs Manoj Jha and Faiyaz Ahmad from Bihar’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have also challenged the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, arguing that it facilitates large-scale government interference in Muslim religious endowments. RJD MLA from Bihar Muhammad Izhar Asfi also challenged the Act.

Tamil Nadu’s ruling party DMK has also joined the legal challenge. Its MP A Raja, who was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Bill, has approached the apex court.

Intervention applications have been filed in the Supreme Court in support of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, stating that the amendments are in consonance with the scheme of the Constitution of India, and that there is no violation of any right of any member of the Muslim community.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, seeks to focus on improving the management of waqf properties, empowering relevant stakeholders, improving the efficiency of survey, registration, and case disposal processes, and developing waqf properties. (ANI)