New Delhi: The Waqf (Amendment) Act passed by parliament last week will come into effect today, i.e. Tuesday (April 8), the Union minority affairs ministry announced in a notification.Meanwhile, the Union government on Tuesday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court seeking a hearing before the top court passes orders on petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Act, PTI reported.Parliament passed the Act on Friday – the Rajya Sabha passed it that day with 128 votes in favour and 95 against, while the Lok Sabha passed it 288-232 on Thursday – and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to it on Saturday.Waqf is the dedication of a property for purposes recognised in Muslim law as pious or charitable.The Modi government has said the amended legislation – which was tabled in parliament earlier this month after a previous version of it was referred to a joint parliamentary committee – will usher in transparency in the administration of waqf bodies and properties.Various opposition parties on the other hand have called the legislation an “encroachment on minority rights” and an attempt to divide society.Political parties are among the over ten petitioners who have challenged the law’s validity in the Supreme Court.Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said on Monday that he would take a decision on listing the petitions.PTI reported citing sources that the petitions were likely to be listed before a bench of the top court on April 15.The legislation has faced criticism for seeking to change the composition of the Central Waqf Council and the state waqf boards. It seeks to ensure the representation of Muslim women and include non-Muslims.It also provides for the establishment of a separate ‘Board of Auqaf’ for Bohras and Aghakhanis.The law crucially does away with the powers of waqf boards to decide if a property is waqf property.