Waqf Act Row: AIMPLB Accuses Centre of Misleading Supreme Court with False Data

New Delhi, May 4, 2025:

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has accused the Union Government of misleading the Supreme Court by submitting allegedly inaccurate data in its affidavit defending the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The apex Muslim body has sought strict action against the official from the Ministry of Minority Affairs responsible for filing the affidavit, which the Board claims is based on a “mischievous false narrative.”

The AIMPLB’s objections center around the government’s claim that Waqf properties have increased by 116% since 2013. The Centre made this assertion in a 1,332-page affidavit, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the amended Waqf law.

“It appears that the Centre is attempting to convey that all Waqf properties registered before 2013 were already uploaded to the WAMSI portal at the time of its launch, which is factually incorrect,” AIMPLB stated through its counsel, Talha Abdul Rahman. The Board has asked the court to direct the deponent of the affidavit to clarify whether all registered Waqf properties were indeed uploaded in 2013.

The Supreme Court, which is set to hear the matter in the week starting May 5, had earlier given the Centre a week to file its response to the constitutional challenges posed against the law.

The Board criticized the affidavit’s claims as unsupported and misleading, saying that such “scurrilous allegations in pleading” must be struck off by the court. It further emphasized that no Waqf property, including those categorized as ‘Waqf-by-user,’ will be denotified or have its character altered until the court decides on the matter.

The Centre has defended the new law, opposing judicial interference in the registration of ‘Waqf-by-user’ properties, arguing that doing so would amount to judicial legislation.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025—passed during the Budget Session of Parliament and signed by President Droupadi Murmu on April 5—has triggered a nationwide debate, with several petitions filed in the apex court challenging its provisions.