Mumbai petitioner Jameel Merchant is among the five SC will hear in Waqf Amendment case

MUMBAI: Mumbai-based social activist Mohammad Jameel Merchant , known to have taken up public causes, is among the five petitioners who will be heard in the Supreme Court in the newly enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025.

The five petitions are: Maulana Arshad Madani of Jamiatul Ulema-e- Hind, social activist Mohammad Jameel Merchant, Mohammed Fazlurrahim, General Secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board , Sheikh Noorul Hassan who is Manipur National People’s Party MLA and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

Incidentally, Marchant is the only petitioner from Maharashtra.

“I am lucky and feel honoured that I will represent Indian Muslims in the Supreme Court among other important personalities of the community including Owaisi and others,” he said.

Merchant has earlier filed pleas against Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitish Rane for his hate speeches and against Hindu religious leader Ramgiri Maharaj for his alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohamed.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 has replaced the Waqf Act, 1995 and renamed as Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UWMEED) Act, 1995.

“The new Act introduces representation of non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards. The Act also says that any government property identified as Waqf will cease to be so. The removes the provision empowering the Waqf Board to inquire and determine if a property is waqf. The Act also allows the central government to make rules regarding registration, publication of accounts of waqf, and publication of proceedings of waqf boards. The Centre can also order an audit of the accounts of waqfs by the CAG or a designated officer,” he explained.

Merchant said the newly enacted law has caused widespread anxiety among Muslims and others who value minority rights and are opposing it. He said he is hopeful that the Supreme Court will strike down the contentious provisions of the Waqf Act.