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The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which was recently passed by Parliament, came into effect from April 8. Soon after its enactment, a number of petitions were filed in various courts seeking a stay on the operation of the Act.
In response, the government has filed a preliminary counter affidavit strongly opposing the grant of any interim relief in these matters. It has referred to earlier precedents, particularly the cases challenging the Waqf Act, 1995, along with its 2013 amendments. In those cases--referred to as the "original petitions"--several challenges were made, but no interim stay was ever granted by the courts. It is also important to note that many of those petitions are still pending before different High Courts and the Supreme Court, and continue without any interim relief. It is also pertinent to highlight a significant observation made by the Supreme Court in April 2022. At that time, a bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant noted that the constitutionality of a law cannot be challenged in a purely theoretical or abstract way, as it would become a mere academic exercise. The court further emphasised that for such a challenge to be entertained, there must be an actual aggrieved party and specific facts supporting the claim. Drawing from this precedent and the handling of similar cases in the past, the government has urged the judiciary to maintain consistency and discipline by not granting interim relief in the current set of petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The government firmly believes that any examination of the law's validity must be based on concrete facts and real grievances, rather than abstract concerns, in keeping with judicial principles already established by the Supreme Court. (ANI)
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