What Is Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024? All You Need To Know About The Controversy

Minorities and parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju had earlier told reporters that the Lok Sabha’s business advisory committee (BAC), which includes leaders from all major parties and is chaired by Speaker Om Birla, agreed on an eight-hour debate.

Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged that their voices were being ignored and said the opposition parties wanted more time to debate and the House to take up more issues, including Manipur and the row over electors’ photo identity cards, a PTI report said.

Let us understand the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, and the controversy.

What Are The Proposed Changes In Waqf Act?

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 28, seeks to amend the Waqf Act, 1995. It proposes changes to the composition of the Waqf Council and Boards, the criteria for establishing waqf properties, and the Board’s authority in identifying waqf property.

• The Bill will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation. There are 30 Waqf boards in the country, and 8.7 lakh properties spread across 9.4 lakh acres under control of Waqf Boards in India.

• Section 40 of the Waqf Act empowers the Waqf Board to decide if a property is Waqf property. The decision of the Board would be final unless it is revoked or modified by the Waqf Tribunal. The Bill extends this power, which currently lies with the Waqf Tribunal, to the district collector.

• The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 removes the requirement for MPs, former judges, and eminent persons appointed to the Council to be Muslim and mandates that two members must be non-Muslims.

• The revenue generated by all Waqf properties is estimated at Rs 200 crore per annum, which is not in sync with the number of properties such bodies have, according to sources.

• The Bill states that “any government property identified or declared as Waqf property, before or after the commencement of the Act, shall not be deemed to be a Waqf property." This determination, however, is to be made by the Collector, not the Waqf Tribunal.

• The Bill also states that until the government makes a decision, the disputed property will be treated as a government property and not a Waqf property.

• Changes in the composition of Waqf Board will ensure inclusion of women in these bodies.

• The Bill also proposes to delete Section 107 of the 1995 law that had made the Limitation Act, 1963 inapplicable to Waqf properties. The Limitation Act is a statutory bar on individuals from filing cases after a period of time. This provision ensured that the Waqf Board is not limited by the statutory timeframe of 12 years to file a case to reclaim its properties from encroachment.

What Is The Controversy Over The Bill?

The controversy over the Waqf Bill started mainly after the Uttar Pradesh government informed the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) during its field visit to Lucknow that 78% of the land claimed by the Waqf Board in the state belongs to the government.

Following the JPC’s approval of the Bill with the NDA’s 14 amendments, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said while the Waqf Board claims ownership of 1.27 lakh properties in the state, only 7,000 have been found valid upon investigation, as per Frontline. His statement that public property belongs to the Revenue Department hints that the government may proceed with stripping the Waqf Board of claims over other properties.

The 1995 Act prescribes a survey of auqaf (plural of waqf) by a Survey Commissioner appointed by the state government. The amendment Bill replaces the Survey Commissioner with the District Collector or any other officer not below the rank of a Deputy Collector duly nominated by the Collector. The government has made the change after it found that survey work has been poor in several states. Officials said in Gujarat and Uttarakhand, surveys have not yet begun, while a survey ordered in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 is still pending.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has strongly criticised the JPC, accusing it of exceeding its mandate and violating democratic norms.

Critics have objected to provisions such as nominating non-Muslims to the Waqf Boards but barring them from creating a waqf or donating property to a waqf, besides changing the nature of waqfs and the waqf administration through amendments to definitions stipulated under the Act.

Opposition members had proposed amendments to all 44 clauses of the Bill in order to resist any changes to the 1995 Waqf Act. They have particularly opposed to Clause 9, which allows the inclusion of two non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council, and another provision that removes the concept of “Waqf by User", which designates properties used for religious purposes over a long period as waqf properties.

The Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) criticised the JPC Chairman’s handling of the proceedings, calling it “arbitrary".

Owaisi contrasted the inclusion of non-Muslim members’ requirement with laws such as the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, and the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, which limit membership in religious governing bodies to members of the respective religious communities.

The timing of the Bill has also being questioned, especially when the constitutional validity of the Waqf Act is under challenge before the Delhi High Court. The government has argued that a unified digital listing of Waqf properties, which is mandated by the Bill, will bring down litigation and ensure transparency and efficiency in governing Waqf properties.