Muslim Leaders And States Push Back Against Waqf Amendment Act

The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the Waqf Amendment Act “as soon as possible”, party spokesperson and legislator Tanvir Sadiq said on Wednesday, 9 April.

“On the direction of President Farooq Abdullah, the National Conference will file a writ petition in the Supreme Court. This legal battle will now be fought there,” said Sadiq, speaking to reporters outside the J&K Assembly after it was adjourned sine die.

Describing the Act as a “constitutionally alarming interference in the religious affairs of the Muslim community,” Sadiq, who represents Srinagar’s Zadibal constituency, declared, “It is a direct attack on the religious freedom, equality, and property rights of Muslims across the country.”

Sadiq added that the petition would be filed by independent MLA and former judge Muzaffar Iqbal, with support from lawyer-legislators Hilal Akbar Lone, Arjun Singh, and Riyaz Ahmad Khan. “Our intention to knock on the door of the Supreme Court is that it is very important to fight this big battle there. We stand with every Muslim who was hurt by this new law, and we are going to represent them,” he said.

He further noted that the Act “violates fundamental constitutional protections under Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, and 300A.”

The final days of the J&K budget session saw repeated disruptions by NC and its allies, especially after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather rejected a motion to debate the Act on 7 April. Referring to the chaos, Sadiq said, “We wanted to send a clear message to the rest of the country that the ruling alliance in J&K is not in favour of the Waqf Amendment Act. We thank the Speaker for putting the sense of the House on record.”

“If more than 300 MPs in the country voted against it, it means there is a vertical division on the Act,” he added. “After registering our protest in the Assembly, we have decided to take this battle forward.”

He also lamented that several private members’ bills and resolutions, including three seeking the restoration of J&K’s statehood, were lost in the din. “The statehood resolutions were equally important, but the PDP, BJP, and PC deliberately created the chaos to sideline them,” said Sadiq. “We pledge that the statehood resolutions will be taken up in the next session. We will fight for statehood on every platform and won’t stop until it’s restored.”

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament last week after intense debates. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on 5 April, and the Act came into force on 8 April 2025.

More than ten petitions have already been filed in the Supreme Court against the Act. These include those by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, and political leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM), Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed (Congress), Manoj Jha and Faiyaz Ahmad (RJD), Amanatullah Khan (AAP), and most recently, Mahua Moitra (TMC).

States have also begun pushing back. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared, “We will not implement this law in our state.” In Tamil Nadu, the assembly passed a resolution urging the Centre to roll back the legislation even before it passed in Parliament.

In Kerala, Muslim organisations are urging a similar move. “M.K. Stalin has already made an announcement, and their assembly has passed a resolution against the implementation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act,” said Thodiyur Muhammed Kunji Moulavi, General Secretary of the South Kerala Jamiatul Ulama. “We demand that the Kerala government should also pass such a resolution.”

Multiple Muslim groups organised a protest march to the Raj Bhavan in Kerala on Thursday, 10 April. They described the Act as an attempt to “eradicate Muslims from the country” and to seize waqf assets “which Muslim families have been donating for generations to help the poor.”

In support of these claims, reports from Bhopal and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh indicate widespread and systemic land grabs from waqf boards, strengthening opposition fears that the Act is meant to facilitate such takeovers.

“Until the death of the last Muslim in this country, we will not allow this anti-democratic law to be implemented,” declared Kadakkal Abdul Azeez Moulavi, President of the Kerala Muslim Jamaath Federation. “Our Raj Bhavan march is just the beginning. We may even organise a massive protest rally to Parliament.”

He added, “This isn’t just about Muslims. Every Indian who believes in secularism and democracy will join us to fight this battle.”

Echoing this, CPI national executive member and former MP Panniyan Raveendran, who joined the Kerala protest, said, “We know how we live and the love we have for each other. The BJP or RSS do not even deserve to utter the name of Hindu. This is an organised attempt to loot properties for their corporate friends. After targeting Muslims, they are now targeting Christians.”

Raveendran’s comment likely referenced an article published — and later retracted — by Organiser, the RSS mouthpiece, which controversially compared land ownership of the Catholic Church and Muslim waqf boards. “The Church laughed it off,” said one protestor, “but the implications were clear — Christians could be next.”

Despite the mounting protests, the BJP-led NDA has strongly supported the bill, while the Opposition INDIA bloc has united in opposition.

Muslim organisations say they will continue peaceful demonstrations and pursue legal remedies. “We are confident,” said a protestor in Kerala, “that the Supreme Court will take a democratic decision and strike down these unconstitutional amendments.”