The trust approached the court as a representative voice of over 3,000 Waqf-based grassroots religious institutions across India
NEW DELHI – One of the prominent Sajjādah Nasheens (sufis) and President of Majlis-e-Sharai Trust (Mumbai) Advocate Syed Sibtain Haider Zaidi has joined the growing list of petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 in the Supreme Court. Termed “black law,” the Act has drawn harsh criticism from community organisations and opposing parties.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Advocate Zaidi said that the Muslim community has already raised serious concerns over the enactment of the Act which violates fundamental rights of religious minorities. Advocate Zaidi, also Sajjādah Nasheen of Khanqah-e-Barkaatiya, said he represents the Naqshbandi order which is a major Sunni order of Sufism and its followers are restive the way the Waqf bill was passed without considering the views of the community.
The Majlis-e-Sharai Trust, the Mumbai-based religious public trust committed to the preservation of Islamic religious institutions, filed the PIL under Article 32 of the Constitution raising serious concerns regarding the violation of fundamental rights of religious minorities, especially Articles 14, 25, 26, 29, and 30.
The trust has approached the court as a representative voice of over 3,000 Waqf-based grassroots religious institutions across India, including over 1,200 mosques, more than 330 Islamic seminaries and about 80 Sufi khānqāhs, 55 dargāhs (shrines), and over 1,800 graveyards. These institutions form the spiritual, educational, and social lifeline of India’s Muslim communities, especially in rural and semi-urban regions.
Zaidi said the petition seeks the declaration of key provisions of the Amendment Act as unconstitutional, restoration of Section 107 of the Waqf Act, 1995, protection of community-led Waqf management systems, and creation of judicial mechanisms for Waqf protection.
