Waqf Act: Actor Vijay moves Supreme Court against new law

Actor Vijay, the president of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), has filed a petition challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 in the Supreme Court.

His petition is among the several others filed in the apex court challenging the Act. These pleas contend that the law is discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violates their fundamental rights.

Among those who have moved the court against the Waqf 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 Act, stating that the amendments are in accordance with the scheme of the Constitution of India and that no right of any member of the Muslim community is violated.

The Centre has also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, seeking a hearing before any order was passed on the pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the newly enacted Waqf Act.

Caveat is filed by a party in the high courts and the apex court to ensure that no orders are passed without hearing it.

What is the Waqf Act?

The Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 seeks to improve the management of waqf properties, empower relevant stakeholders, improve the efficiency of survey, registration, and case disposal processes, and develop waqf properties.

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.

(With agency inputs)