Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court challenging the Waqf Act 1995. The PIL states that the Act is made under the garb of managing waqf properties but there are no similar laws for followers of other religions. The PIL challenges the validity of various provisions under this act.
Upadhyay pleaded that the Act is against secularism, unity, and integrity of the nation. He also highlighted that the Waqf is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.
In his plea, Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said, “If the impugned Act has been made to protect the rights guaranteed under Articles 29-30 then it has to cover all the minorities i.e., followers of Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Bahaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and not only Islam.”
The PIL mentions, “Centre cannot make Tribunals arbitrarily beyond the scope of Articles 323A–323B, but if the impugned Act is enacted under Article 245 and Entry-97 of the List-1 of the Schedule-7, then the Tribunal has to perform in consonance with Articles 14-15.”
Advocate Upadhyay’s plea further states, “The Religious Endowment Act 1863, Indian Trustees Act 1866, Indian Trust Act 1882, Charitable Endowment Act 1890, Official Trustees Act 1913, and Charitable and Religious Act 1990 are made to manage trusts and religious endowments of all communities. But rather than unifying them and making a ‘Uniform Code for Trust and Trustees, Charities and Charitable Institutions, Charitable and Religious Endowments and Religious Institution’, Centre has arbitrarily enacted the impugned religion-biased Act against the basic tenets of Articles 14-15.”
The dispute relating to the Waqf properties are decided by the Waqf Tribunal as per the Waqf Act. The PIL also challenges this provision and seeks direction that the dispute relating to religious properties shall be decided by the Civil Court only under Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code 1908.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to hear the plea seeking directions to the central government or the law commission of India to draft a ‘Uniform Code for Trust-Trustees and Charities-Charitable Institutions’ in the spirit of Articles 14 &15 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court’s bench said that it cannot direct the parliament to enact such a law.
