New Delhi:
Two opposition MPs have filed a petition against the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Supreme Court, called the proposed law “discriminatory towards Muslims”.
Congress MP Mohammad Joud and Eim MP Asaduddin Owaisi filed separate petitions against the passage of the controversial bill, called the provisions “a clear violation of the fundamental rights of Muslims”.
The Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill after midnight on Thursday after a long discussion. The bill is waiting for the assurance of President Draupadi Murmu before the Bill is enacted.
Mr. Jabde said in his petition that the bill violates the fundamental rights of Muslims.
He said that it violates Article 14 (right to equality), 25 (freedom to practice religion), 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs), 29 (minority rights), and 300A (right to property) of the Constitution.
The Congress is a whip in Mr. Jowud Lok Sabha. He was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The proposed law discriminates against Muslims who are not present under the rule of other religious arrangements by banning, the Congress MP said in a petition filed through his lawyer Anas Tanveir.
“For example, while Hindus and Sikh religious trusts continue to enjoy a degree of self-regulations, amendment in the WAKF Act, 1995 has increased the state’s intervention in Waqf cases,” the petition stated.
“In addition to the introduction of arbitrary classifications for violations of Article 14 in such differential treatment, which is a reasonable nexus deficiency for the purposes sought to achieve, it is impregnable under the principle of manifest intermediate,” it said.
Mr. Jod said that the proposed law introduces restrictions on the construction of Waqf based on the duration of a person’s religious practice.
“Such a boundary is baseless in Islamic law, maintaining a custom or example and violates the fundamental right to practice and practice religion under Article 25. Also, the restriction discriminates against those who have recently converted to Islam and want to dedicate property for religious or charitable objectives, then a violation of Article 15 is said to be.
The petition stated that amendment in the composition of the Waqf Board and the Central Waqf Council made it an improper intervention in a religious rule to include non-Muslim members in Waqf administrative bodies, opposite Hindu religious arrangements that are specially managed by Hindus under various state acts.
