The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a batch of pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act’s Constitutional validity, weeks after the government paused two central aspects of the contentious law in the face of probing questions by the top court.
The Centre assured the apex court on April 17 that it would neither denotify waqf properties, including “waqf by user”, nor make any appointments to the Central Waqf Council and boards till May 5.
The Centre had also strongly opposed the apex court’s proposal to pass an interim order against the denotification of Waqf properties, including ‘waqf by user’, aside from staying a provision allowing the inclusion of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and boards.
The top court had noted the submissions of Mehta and said that waqf properties, including ‘waqf by user’, already registered or declared by way of notification, shall not be disturbed and denotified till the next date of hearing. It had then granted a week’s time to the Centre to file a preliminary response to the pleas challenging the validity of the law and posted the matter on May 5.
The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear on Monday the batch of five petitions which are now titled In Re the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 and other related fresh pleas on the issue. The batch of pleas include the one filed by AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asadudding Owaisi.
The Centre notified the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 last month after it got President Droupadi Murmu’s assent on April 5. The Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha with the support of 288 members while 232 MPs were against it. The Rajya Sabha saw 128 members voting in its favour and 95 against it.
Several political parties such as the DMK, YSRCP, AIMIM, the Left parties, civil society groups such as NGOs, Muslim bodies and others have moved the apex court challenging the validity of the Act.
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Delhi HC to hear Kejriwal, Sisodia plea in liquor ‘scam’
The Delhi High Court on Monday will hear petitions by AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia against the trial court’s decision to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s charge sheet filed in alleged excise policy scam.
The petitions, filed in 2024, are listed for hearing before Justice Ravinder Dudeja.
According to the former Delhi CM, the special court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed in a money laundering case linked to the scam in the absence of any sanction for his prosecution, which was required as he was a public servant when the alleged offence was committed.
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Similar objections have been raised by the former deputy chief minister as well. Sisodia said in his petition that since the allegations against him related to official acts carried out by him as a public servant, prior sanction to prosecute was required.
Besides seeking to set aside the trial court’s order, Kejriwal has also sought quashing of all proceedings in the case.
Gadkari to inaugurate projects in Telangana
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will inaugurate and lay foundation stones for several road projects worth Rs 5,416 crore in Telangana on Monday, state BJP chief and Union minister G Kishan Reddy said on Saturday.
Gadkari will inaugurate road projects worth Rs 4,590 crore and lay the foundation for national highway projects worth Rs 826 crore at two events to be held in Kagaznagar town and Hyderabad, Kishan Reddy said in a release.
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Reddy said that a 1.47 km flyover in Amberpet, Hyderabad —built at Rs 330 crore— is among the road projects to be inaugurated by Gadkari.
– With PTI inputs
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