DMK, IUML file petitions in SC challenging Waqf amendments

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have filed separate writ petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, adding to a growing list of legal challenges against the new law that has emerged as a major flashpoint.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

The Union government has justified the changes to the central Waqf law as necessary to enhance transparency, curb mismanagement and ensure better regulation of Waqf properties. But the move has sparked intense debate, with many critics and the Opposition parties arguing that it interferes with the religious autonomy of the Muslim community.

The DMK's petition, filed through its deputy general secretary and Lok Sabha parliamentarian A Raja, who was also a member of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Waqf bill, alleges that the Amendment Act violates the fundamental rights of nearly five million Muslims in Tamil Nadu and 200 million Muslims across India. The petition was settled by senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson. The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly had earlier, on March 27, passed a resolution urging the Union government to withdraw the bill.

The IUML's petition, filed under Article 32, also assails the legislation on multiple constitutional grounds, citing violations of a bunch of fundamental rights. It calls the 2025 amendment an "unconstitutional assault on the religious autonomy and personal rights of the Muslim community in India."