The Waqf (Amendment) Bill will be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, setting the ground for a stormy session as the Opposition has vowed to counter it on the floor. The bill will be tabled after the question hour following which an eight-hour discussion may follow.
The NDA and the INDIA bloc have issued whips to their MPs and despite the political heat, the numbers heavily favour the ruling BJP-led NDA. The NDA has 293 MPs in the Lower House with a current strength of 542.
What is Waqf?
It refers to properties dedicated exclusively to religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law. These properties are used to maintain the mosques and graveyards, set up schools and other educational institutions and healthcare facilities or aid the poor and disabled.
Any other use or sale of the property is prohibited.
What is the Waqf Bill?
The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, proposes to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, and address the regulation of Waqf properties. According to the government, the current bill aims to improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India. It also proposes to overcome the flaws of the 1995 Act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process, and increasing the role of technology in managing Waqf records.
Key differences explained
The bill was tabled in the Parliament in August last year, after which it was sent to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for scrutiny. The JPC submitted its report in February this year.
The key provisions in the new bill are:
1) Unified Waqf Management: The Bill seeks to rename the Act to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995.
2) Inclusion of non-Muslim members: The Bill proposes the inclusion of diverse groups like non-Muslims, members from other communities and backward classes among Muslim communities and Women etc in the decision-making. Two members of the board must be non-Muslims. Members of Parliament, former judges, and eminent persons appointed to the Council as per the Act need not be Muslims, the Bill proposes. Of the Muslim members, two must be women.
3) Formation of Waqf: While the 1995 Act allowed waqf to be formed by declaration, long-term use, or endowment, the Bill states that only a person practising Islam for at least five years may declare a waqf. It also proposes that the person must own the property being declared and removes the provisions which enabled deeming as waqf the properties that were used for religious purposes for a long time. It also adds that waqf-alal-aulad must not result in the denial of inheritance rights to the donor’s heir including women heirs.
While the Act empowered the Waqf Board to inquire and determine if a property is a waqf, the Bill removed this provision.
4) Government Property as Waqf: Though there were no clear provisions in the Act, the new Bill maintains that government properties identified as Waqf cease to be Waqf. Disputes will resolved by the Collector, who reports to the state.
5) Audits of Waqfs: While the Central government to make rules regarding registration, publication of accounts of waqf, and publication of proceedings of Waqf Boards, the state governments could get the accounts of Waqfs audited at any point. The Bill empowers the Central government to get these audited by the CAG or a designated officer.
6) Separate Waqfs: The Act allows the establishment of separate Waqf Boards for Sunni and Shia sects if Shia waqf constituted over 15% of all waqf properties or waqf income in the State. The Bill also allows separate waqf boards for the Aghakhani and Bohra sects.
7) Waqf Tribunal: Under the Act, decisions of the Waqf Tribunal were final and appeals against its decisions in Courts were prohibited and the High Court intervention was available only under special circumstances. However, the Bill has done away with this provision. Waqf tribunals' orders may be appealed before High Courts within 90 days as per the Bill.