'If tomorrow the government...': Kiren Rijiju asserts ahead of SC hearing on Waqf Bill

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on petitions against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that he is confident the apex court would not comment on a legislative matter. He also said that the legislature and the judiciary need to respect each other.

"We have to respect each other. If tomorrow, the government interferes into the judiciary, it won't be nice. The separation of powers is well defined," the Union Minister told NDTV in an interview. 

He further mentioned that no other bill has been scrutinised as much as the Waqf Bill. 

"I have not seen any other bill being scrutinised so much... one crore representation, maximum sittings of the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) and a record in Rajya Sabha while debating the bill," he added.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is all set to hear a bunch of petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 on April 16.

The petitioners including Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, Sambhal MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq, Indian Union Muslim League, and others have claimed that the Act is discriminatory towards the Muslim community and violates their fundamental rights including the right to equality and the right to religious freedom. 

Previously, the top court said it would not trespass into the legislature's domain. It, however, agreed to hear the petitions opposing the Act, as the final arbiter on issues related to the Constitution.

Moreover, the Centre has also filed a caveat application in the top court and urged it to hear the government in the petitions filed before it hears the petitions challenging the validity of the Act. 

Governments of Assam, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Maharashtra have also filed intervention applications in the Supreme Court supporting the Bill, according to a report in LiveLaw.

The states opposed the petitioners' claims of the Waqf Amendment Act being in violation of the Constitution and noted that it put in place structural reforms, statutory clarity, and procedural safeguards. They also mentioned that the Act addressed concerns around the misuse of Section 40 of the parent act, which allowed the Waqf Boards to lay claim over any property as Waqf. 

After being passed by both the Houses of the Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu gaev her asset to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on April 5.