The Central Government on 8 August referred the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to a Joint Committee of Parliament. The bill was tabled by Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju.
Key provisions
- The Bill seeks to change the existing framework of Waqf law.
- The Bill seeks to change the name of the parent Act from the Waqf Act, 1995, to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
- The proposed amendment shifts the power of governing Waqfs from the Boards and Tribunals to the state governments.
- No person shall create a Waqf unless he is the lawful owner of the property. Government property identified or declared as Waqf property, before or after the commencement of this Act, shall not be deemed to be a Waqf property.
- It empowers the government to decide if a property given as Waqf is government land. This provision essentially means that the Collector will make this determination in case of a dispute. Currently, it is decided by the Waqf Tribunal.
- The proposed Bill would also give the central government the power to “direct the audit of any Waqf at any time by an auditor appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, or by any officer designated by the Central Government for that purpose”.
- The Bill proposes to change the composition of Waqf Boards in states.
- It proposes to allow even a non-Muslim CEO, and gives the power to the state government to have at least two non-Muslim members to the state Waqf Boards.
What is a Waqf?
- A Waqf is personal property given by Muslims for a specific purpose — religious, charitable, or for private purposes.
- While the beneficiaries of the property can be different, the ownership of the property is implied to be with God.
- A Waqf can be formed through a deed or instrument or orally, or a property can be deemed to be Waqf if it has been used for religious or charitable purposes for a long period of time.
- Once a property is declared as Waqf, its character changes forever, and cannot be reversed.
- Waqf properties in India are governed by the Waqf Act, 1995. In 2013, the law was amended to prescribe imprisonment of up to two years for encroachment on Waqf property, and to explicitly prohibit the sale, gift, exchange, mortgage, or transfer of Waqf property.
- The Waqf law provides for the appointment of a survey commissioner who maintains a list of all Waqf properties by making local investigations, summoning witnesses, and requisitioning public documents.
- The Waqf Act states that any dispute related to Waqf properties will be decided by a Waqf Tribunal. The Tribunal is constituted by the state government.
- The law also has provisions for the constitution and appointment of Waqf Boards, Waqf Councils, Chief Executive Officers for Waqf Boards in the states.
- A Waqf Board is a body under the state government, which works as a custodian for Waqf properties across the state. In most states, there are separate Waqf Boards for the Shia and Sunni communities. Almost all prominent mosques in the country are Waqf properties and are under the Waqf Board of the state.
- The CEOs and parliamentarians who are part of the Waqf Boards must be from the Muslim community.
