SC Declines Oral Mentioning of Petitions Challenging Waqf Act

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Wednesday declined to entertain oral requests for urgent listing of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, pointing out that the Supreme Court has a "robust system of listing" in place.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

"Why are you mentioning orally? There is a robust system in place for urgent listing. Please, send a letter of urgency and that will be placed before me," CJI Khanna told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who sought an early hearing on a petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani.

When Sibal responded that the mentioning letter had already been submitted, CJI Khanna replied: "I will get the letter and do the needful. All these requests are placed before me every afternoon. There is no need to mention."

A similar request was made by senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and advocate Nizam Pasha in some other petitions that have also assailed the validity of the amendments in the Waqf Act. Pasha was appearing for the petition filed by Lok Sabha parliamentarian and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi. The CJI, however, remained firm on the protocol for mentioning, indicating that the court would examine the listing request in due course.

The petitions challenge sweeping amendments passed by Parliament on April 4 and signed into law by the President on April 5. The Act overhauls key provisions governing the administration, recognition and control of Islamic charitable endowments — waqfs — triggering a series of legal challenges by political leaders, religious bodies, and community representatives.