Govt may bring Bill to amend Waqf law: What are Waqf boards? What are the proposed changes?

The Centre is likely to table a bill in Parliament in the ongoing monsoon session to amend the Waqf Act of 1995. As per reports, about 40 changes have been suggested to the law governing Waqf boards in India.

The Muslim Law Board and several Muslim clerics and politicians have criticised the government over the bill. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has defended the proposed amendments.

What are waqf boards? What amendments are recommended by the Centre? Let’s understand.

What is a waqf?

Waqf is the property dedicated for religious or charitable purposes in the name of Allah.

The Waqf Act of 1995 defines waqf as the “permanent dedication by a person professing Islam of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognised by the Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable.”

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A waqf can be created through a deed or instrument that “includes and valid subsequent deed or instrument by which any of the terms of the original dedication have been varied.”

The income generated by the property could be used to support the poor or for educational institutions, graveyards, mosques and shelter homes. The person who forms the waqf is known as waqif who may lay down how the income from the property should be utilised, as per ThePrint report.

A waqf is seen as a religious charity through which people can contribute to the welfare of society.

The dedicated property cannot be taken back and the waqf remains a continuing entity. A waqf can be formed by a non-Muslim as well but the individual should profess Islam and the aim to create it has to be Islamic, reported Indian Express.

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What is a waqf board?

A Waqf board manages the waqf properties, ensuring that the income from the property is used as per the wishes of waqif and Islamic principles, as per ThePrint.

The Board is recognised as a legal body or juristic person. A chairperson leads it, and the other board members include Muslim legislators and parliamentarians, a couple of nominees from the state government, Muslim members of the state Bar Council, esteemed scholars of Islamic theology and ‘mutawalis’ of the waqfs, reported Indian Express.

Mutawalli is “any person appointed either verbally or under any deed or instrument by which a wakf has been created or by a competent authority to be the mutawalli of a wakf,” as per the 1954 Waqf Act.

The Waqf Board enjoys powers to administer the property and take steps for recovering lost properties of any waqf, and to sanction any transfer of immovable property of a waqf through sale, mortgage, gift, exchange or lease.

The sanction can be given only when at least two-thirds of the members of the board approve such a transaction.

Waqf Act and amendments

In 1954, the government led by India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru passed the Waqf Act that centralised the waqfs. It gave the land of Muslims who migrated from India to Pakistan after the 1947 Partition to waqf boards under the Act.

The government later set up the Central Waqf Council in 1964. This council acts as an advisory body to the Centre in cases of waqf properties.

In 1995, the law was amended to allow the creation of waqf boards in every state and Union Territory.

In 2013, changes were made to the law , enhancing the power of the waqf boards. As per the amendment, Section 40 of the Act empowered state waqf Boards to decide whether a particular property is a waqf property or not and whether it is a Sunni waqf or a Shia waqf. “The Board, after duly considering such cause as may be shown in pursuance of notice and after making an inquiry as it may deem fit, decides the case. The decision of the Board on a question under the said provision shall, unless revoked or modified by the Tribunal, be final.”

India has 30 Waqf boards. As per reports, there were originally 52,000 waqf properties across the country. By 2009, the number rose to 3,00,000 registered Waqf properties spread over four lakh acres of land.

Currently, there are 8,72,292 registered waqf properties covering over eight lakh acres of land.

Latest amendments

The BJP-led NDA government is reportedly bringing amendments to the 1954 Act to curb the powers of the Waqf Board over assets.

Sources told PTI that the government will introduce the Bill in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament to amend the law to bring more “accountability and transparency” in the functioning of waqf boards.

As many as 40 amendments are likely to be made to the Act, including ensuring mandatory involvement of women in these bodies. Currently, women are not members of waqf boards or councils. “Muslim women and children are suffering the most. If a woman is divorced, then she and her children do not get any rights. … The government is committed to gender justice. There will be two women on every single state board and two women in the central council as per the new bill,” government sources told India Today.

Sources claim the move comes in the wake of demands from within the Muslim community. They cite the recommendations of the Sachar Committee Report and joint committee of Parliament led by K Rahman Khan as some reasons for the step.

“There have been demands from within the community to amend the law to bring transparency and accountability …some Muslim high court judges had flagged that the decision taken by waqf boards cannot be challenged in courts. Now, the amendment bill seeks to set that right,” a person familiar with the government’s decision told PTI.

Speaking to NDTV, sources said that once land becomes waqf property, the decision cannot be reversed. They claim that powerful Muslims have “captured” waqf boards because of this.

The proposed amendments include the verification of land before it is deemed as a waqf property by the board. The bill also calls for fresh verification of disputed properties claimed by several state boards.

Government sources pointed out that the amendments seek to bring a provision to appeal a tribunal’s decision in High Courts.

Reaction to the proposed bill

Reacting sharply to the proposed bill, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has said any amendment to the 2013 Act “will not be tolerated”.

AIMPLB spokesman Dr SQR Ilyas said, “The BJP government always wanted to do this. Following the conclusion of the 2024 (Lok Sabha) elections, we thought that there will be a change in the BJP’s attitude, but that’s not the case. I, however, feel that this is not the right move.”

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has decried the proposed bill, accusing the BJP of pursuing a “Hindutva agenda”. “These amendments are with the intention of taking away waqf properties. The real reason for this act is to affect the freedom of religion. The Modi government wants to take away the autonomy of the waqf board. This is against freedom of religion,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, the BJP has defended the bill. “Demand for improvement in waqf board is not new, it has been going on for the past 30-40 years. Those who are raising this demand and affected by it are Muslims themselves. There is a need for betterment in the waqf board and I hope Samajwadi Party, Congress and TMC will support it (the Bill), whenever it is introduced,” BJP leader Ajay Alok was quoted as saying by PTI.

Government sources also criticised some Muslim clerics for creating a “dangerous narrative” by “making wild statements that Muslim land will be taken away".

With input from agencies