In a significant development, six BJP-ruled states including Madhya Pradesh and Assam have approached the Supreme Court to support the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

The six BJP-ruled states — Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Assam — have filed separate pleas highlighting the potential administrative and legal ramifications if the Waqf (Amendment) Act is struck down or altered.

Haryana, which has filed the intervention in the lead petition, emphasised the urgent need for reform in the management of Waqf property.

The Maharashtra government asserted that it is crucial to assist the apex court by providing parliamentary records, committee recommendations and insights from national consultations.

The Rajasthan government raised concerns over past practices where properties — whether privately owned or held by the state — were being declared Waqf assets without due process.

Assam’s plea drew attention to Section 3E of the amended Act, which bars any declaration of land in Scheduled or Tribal Areas — covered under the Fifth or Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — as Waqf property.

The Uttarakhand Waqf Board, which has been supporting the Waqf (Amendment) Act, has also submitted an application in the Supreme Court seeking permission to intervene in the writ petition filed by Owaisi challenging the constitutional validity of the law.

The Supreme Court will today hear a batch of petitions, including the one of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, against the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan, so far, listed 10 petitions on the issue.

In addition to Owaisi’s plea, the court listed for hearing the petitions filed by AAP leader Amanatullah Khan, Association for the Protection of Civil Rights, Arshad Madani, Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, Anjum Kadari, Taiyyab Khan Salmani, Mohammad Shafi, Mohammed Fazlurrahim and RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha.

Several fresh pleas, which are yet to be listed, were filed in the top court subsequently including the ones filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia-ur-Rahman Barq.

The YSRCP-led by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Communist Party of India (CPI), Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief and actor-turned-politician Vijay have also moved the top court on the issue.

Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and one Mani Munjal have also filed a separate petition challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the law on the ground that they violate fundamental rights of non-Muslims following which the CJI agreed to list it.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed are other key petitioners.

On April 7, a bench headed by the CJI assured senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, to consider listing the petitions.