WAQF (AMENDMENT) BILL 2024: JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SET TO DELIBERATE
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 8, 2024. It amends the Waqf Act, 1995. The Bill renames the Act to ‘United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995’. The Act regulates waqf property in India. The Act defines waqf as an endowment of movable or immovable property for purposes considered pious, religious, or charitable under Muslim law. Every state is required to constitute a Waqf Board to manage waqf.
WAQF AND WAQF (WAKF) ACT
As defined under Section 3 of The Wakf Act, 1995 (amended in 2013), Wakf or Waqf means the permanent dedication by any person of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognized by Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable.
The Wakf Act, 1995 (the “Act”), was brought to regulate ‘Auqaf’ (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a ‘wakif’ (the person who dedicates a property for any purpose recognised by Muslim law as religious or charitable). The Act was last amended in 2013.
Section 32 of the 1995 says that the general superintendence of all Waqf properties in a state is vested with the state/UT Waqf Boards (SWBs) and the Waqf Board is empowered to manage these Waqf properties.
The Act was enacted during Jawaharlal Nehru-led government with the aim to providing an administrative structure for the functioning of Waqfs. Then the Waqf Boards had powers, including roles for trustees and mutawallis (managers).
PURPOSE OF THE NEW BILL
The new Bill aims to streamline the registration process for Waqfs by establishing a central portal and database, according to a PTI report. It outlines a detailed procedure for updating records in accordance with revenue laws, ensuring that all relevant parties are notified before any property is designated as Waqf property.
The government asserts that the primary goal of the amendment bill is to improve accountability and transparency within Waqf boards and to ensure the mandatory inclusion of women in these bodies. This initiative responds to requests from within the Muslim community, the reports indicate.
FORMATION OF WAQF
The Act allows waqf to be formed by: declaration, recognition based on long-term use (waqf by user), or endowment when the line of succession ends (“waqf-alal-aulad”). The Bill states that only a person practicing Islam for at least five years may declare a waqf. It clarifies that the person must own the property being declared. It removes waqf by user. It also adds that waqf-alal-aulad must not result in denial of inheritance rights to the donor’s heir including women heirs.
CENTRAL WAQF COUNCIL
The Central Waqf Council is established by the Act to provide advice to both the central and state governments, as well as Waqf Boards. The Union Minister responsible for Waqf serves as the ex-officio chairperson of the Council. According to the Act, all members of the Council must be Muslims, with a requirement that at least two of them are women. However, the Bill proposes a change, it stipulates that two members should be non-Muslims. Members of the Council who are MPs, former judges, or distinguished individuals appointed under the Act are not required to be Muslims. The following members must still be Muslim: (i) representatives of Muslim organizations, (ii) scholars of Islamic law, and (iii) chairpersons of Waqf Boards. Among the Muslim members, at least two must be women.
WAQF BOARD
The Act outlines that up to two members from each of the following electoral colleges—Muslim MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and Bar Council members from the state—can be elected to the Waqf Boards. In contrast, the Bill proposes that the state government nominate one individual from each of these categories to the Board, and these nominees do not have to be Muslim. Additionally, the Bill stipulates that the Board must include: (i) two non-Muslim members, (ii) at least one member each from Shia, Sunni, and Backward classes of Muslims, and (iii) one member each from the Bohra and Agakhani communities if they have waqf properties in the state. While the Act requires at least two female members on the Board, the Bill specifies that two of the Muslim members must be women.
COMPOSITION OF TRIBUNALS
The Act mandates the establishment of Tribunals in states to resolve waqf-related disputes. According to the Act, the Chairman of these Tribunals must be a Judge of at least Class-1, District, Sessions, or Civil Judge rank. The other Tribunal members are: (i) a state officer with a rank equivalent to Additional District Magistrate, and (ii) an expert in Muslim law and jurisprudence. The Bill proposes changes by removing the requirement for an expert in Muslim law and instead stipulates that the Tribunal must be composed of: (i) a current or former District Court judge as Chairman, and (ii) a current or former officer holding the rank of Joint Secretary in the state government.
APPEAL ON ORDERS OF TRIBUNALS
Under the Act, decisions of the Tribunal are final and appeals against its decisions in Courts are prohibited. The High Court can consider matters on its own accord, on an application by the Board, or an aggrieved party. The Bill omits provisions deeming finality to Tribunal’s decisions. Tribunal’s orders may be appealed in the High Court within 90 days.
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