In India, Muslim organization chief says Supreme Court functioning 'under government pressure’

ISLAMABAD: A major political row intensified on Monday after India's Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani questioned recent Indian Supreme Court verdicts, prompting sharp reactions from political leaders and triggering street protests by right-wing groups.

Madani, while addressing a national meeting of the JUH on Saturday, a video of which was released earlier today, said that recent judgments, including those related to the Babri Masjid and triple "talaq", or divorce, cases, had created a perception that the judiciary was working “under government pressure.”

Madani said the Supreme Court was “supreme only if it upheld the Constitution.”

He also said that anti-Muslim hatred was being deliberately spread and criticized the use of terms such as “Love Jihad” and “Land Jihad.” Madani said the Islamic concept of “jihad” referred to a struggle against injustice and oppression, not violence.

The Jamiat chief opposed government moves to regulate Waqf properties and accused authorities of allowing targeted actions such as economic boycotts, mob lynching, and bulldozer operations.

He further criticized the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls, saying the process had created fear in Muslim localities. Madani reiterated the community’s opposition to singing Vande Mataram.

The remarks have sparked strong reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party's national spokesperson, Sambit Patra, said the Supreme Court should take suo motu notice, while Madhya Pradesh minister Vishwas Sarang described the comments as an attack on the Constitution.