The current Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, is set to retire on May 13, and the case will now be listed before a new bench led by Justice BR Gavai, who is scheduled to take oath as the next CJI on May 14.
AMN / NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Monday postponed the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The matter will now be taken up on May 15, as the bench noted it had not yet fully examined the government’s affidavit on the issue.
The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The matter will now be taken up on May 15, as the bench noted it had not yet fully examined the government’s affidavit on the issue.
The current Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, is set to retire on May 13, and the case will now be listed before a new bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai, who is scheduled to take oath as the next Chief Justice on May 14. The batch of pleas include the one filed by AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
The petitions have drawn national attention as they question the constitutional validity and implications of the amended Waqf law, particularly in matters of land ownership and religious endowments. The outcome of this legal battle could have wide-reaching consequences, and all eyes are now on the new CJI-led bench which will take it up mid-May. Earlier on April 17, the Centre had assured the apex court 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.
Waqf Amendment Act
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.