The Supreme Court Tuesday issued notice to the Centre and states on a petition challenging the Waqf Act, 1995. A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice A G Masih issued the notice on the plea by Delhi resident Nikhil Upadhyay, and tagged it with a similar petition by Advocate Hari Shankar Jain and another person.
Hearing writ petitions challenging the recent amendments made to the Waqf Act, the bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice Masih had earlier asked why the 1995 Act is being challenged now after so many years.
While Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for petitioner Hari Shankar Jain, tried to explain that the petitioners had challenged the 1995 Act before the SC much earlier, and were asked to approach the High Courts, the bench was not convinced.
On Tuesday, too, the bench asked Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay why it should take up petitions challenging the 1995 Act now. Upadhyay pointed out that the bench of former CJI Sanjiv Khanna, and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan — which had heard the Waqf (Amendment) 2025 matters before the CJI Gavai-led bench took over following former CJI Khanna’s retirement — already agreed to hear the challenge to the 1995 Act separately and allowed those who had challenged the 2025 amendments to file their response to it.
Upadhyay also referred to the April 17, 2025, order of the CJI Khanna-led bench, which said, “the writ petitions challenging the 1995 Waqf Act and the amendments made therein in 2013, including W.P. (C) No. 353/2025 “Hari Shankar Jain and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors.” and W.P. (C) Diary No. 19103/2025 titled “Parul Khera v. Union of India and ors.”, shall be separately shown in the cause list.
The April 17 order added, “As a special case, liberty is granted to the petitioners, who have filed writ petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, to file their response to the said writ petitions.”
Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said Tuesday the court has not allowed a hearing on the challenge to the 1995 Act along with the petitions challenging the 2025 Amendment. Bhati, however, added there is no objection if Upadhyay’s petition is tagged with the other petition by Jain challenging the 1995 Act.
