Law can't be challenged in ‘abstract’: SC declines to consider plea against Waqf Act

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to consider a PIL challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Act, 1995 and seeking a direction to uniform law to manage trusts and religious endowments of all communities.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant said that the constitutionality of legislation cannot be challenged in the "abstract" as a mere "academic exercise", as petitioner, BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay failed to show any violation of his rights due to the statute.

Appearing in person, Upadhyay referred to his other plea for a uniform code for trust-trustees, charities- charitable institutions and religious endowments as the Parliament cannot make a special law to deal with the trusts of a particular religious community alone.

The bench, however, said that it cannot issue a mandamus to the legislature to enact a law.

"We have to be very careful when there is a constitutional validity of a legislation," the bench said.

On this, the petitioner preferred to withdraw his plea.

The petitioner, in his plea, claimed 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 were 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”, the Centre has arbitrarily enacted the Waqf Act, he claimed.

"The Waqf Board, which has MLA, MP, IAS Officer, Town Planner, advocate, scholar and Mutawallis all from Muslim community, are paid from the public exchequer, though Centre doesn’t collect even one rupee from any mosque, mazar and dargah. On the other hand, States collect around one lakh crore to four lakh crore temples but there are no similar provisions for Hindus. Hence, it is brazenly in violation of Constitution and the principle of secularism," he claimed.

Check out DH's latest videos