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The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session in 2024
Owaisi, the five-time Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, has been sending in his objection to the Bill in a written format to the committee chairman in every meeting. (PTI)
AIMIM president and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi is leading the opposition charge on the rejection of the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, in its entire form. Owaisi has submitted amendments to all the clauses of the Bill, thereby opposing the Bill in totality as was brought in by the Centre.
On Monday, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), which is examining the Bill, will hold a clause-by-clause discussion on the Bill and the proposed amendments that will also be put to vote.
Owaisi, the five-time Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, has been sending in his objection to the Bill in a written format to the committee chairman in every meeting.
Apart from Owaisi, many other MPs from the Opposition have objected to the Bill in its present form and have submitted amendments to the JPC. The others include Gaurav Gogoi, Naseer Hussain, Imran Masood, Mohammad Javed from the Congress; A Raja and Abdulla from DMK; Kalyan Banerjee and Nadeem Ul Haq from the TMC; Mohibbulah from Samajwadi Party; Arvind Sawant from UBT and Sanjay Singh from AAP.
A few amendments have also come from the ruling side from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, Aparajita Sarangi, Tejasvi Surya, Brijlal, Sanjay Jaiswal, DK Aruna and Dilip Saikia.
A member of the committee, Vijay Sai Reddy, recently resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership so he shall no longer be in the panel. YSRCP in the past had strongly objected to the Bill.
What are the objections?
Some objections of the Opposition in unanimity included the clause to amend the short title of the Act from the ‘Waqf Act, 1995’ to ‘Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995’ (UMEED). The leaders have questioned the government’s intent to rename the Bill which, according to them, was not required.
Other questions raised by the Opposition include: Should any work property proceedings being used for anti-national activities be confiscated? Why should collector get so much power if he is the complainant? How can he be the judge in the same case? Why are you allowing non-Muslims to become part of the Waqf Council? Will you allow Muslims to become members of the Hindu Endowments Board?
According to an NDA MP, in case of a disputed property, where both sides are claiming the right, the property must be transferred to government through a trust. Another MP is likely to suggest that in case the proceedings of any Waqf property are used for international activities, such properties must be immediately confiscated.
Another NDA partner is likely to suggest that the appointment of non-Muslims to the Waqf Board must be for management activities and any interference in the rituals, customs etc should be strongly discouraged.
Opposing separate Waqf Board for Bohras and Aghakhanis has also been listed by the Opposition in its amendments.
Preliminary survey of Waqf to replace the Collector in place of the Survey Officers so as to confer powers upon the Collector to make the survey in accordance with the procedure in revenue laws of the state, as proposed in the Bill, is also being objected to by opposition MPs.
What are the amendments proposed?
Amongst the amendments given by the ruling side, Nishikant Dubey has given an amendment on Waqf by user clause. His amendment states: “That in Clause 3 at page 2, after Clause 3(ix)(d), following proviso be inserted. Provided that the existing Waqf by user properties registered on or before the commencement of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2024, as Waqf by user will remain as Waqf properties except that the property, wholly or in part, is in dispute or is a government property.”
Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has proposed that Clause 36 be omitted. Clause 36 of the Bill seeks to amend Section 84 relating to tribunal to hold proceedings expeditiously and to furnish to the parties copies of its decision. It provides that if the matter is not decided within six months, the tribunal may decide the matter within a further period of six months for the reasons to be recorded in writing as to why the matter was not decided within the said period of six months.
In her amendment, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi proposes that in Clause 4 on page 3 of the Bill, after newly proposed Section 3B(1), the following proviso be inserted: “Provided that Tribunal may, on an application made to it by the Mutawalli, extend the period of six months under this section for such period as it may consider appropriate, if he satisfies the Tribunal that he had sufficient cause for not filing the details of the waqf on the portal within such period.”
Section 3B (1) provides for every Waqf registered under this Act, prior to the commencement of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2024, to file the details of the Waqf and the property dedicated to the Waqf on the portal and database, within a period of six months from such commencement.
What next?
On Monday, members will move their amendment which will be put to vote and results will be announced by the chair, which will also be a part of the record. Similarly, members’ suggestions on the Bill will also be discussed, for which no voting would be required. Based on the clause-by-clause consideration, the draft report will be finalised and shared with the legislative department. The Bill, as amended by the committee, will be prepared by the legislative council, Ministry of Law and Justice.
The draft report will also be sent to the Hindi translation wing and to the ministry for factual verification. Then, along with the amended Bill as prepared by the legislative council, it will be submitted to the chairperson for approval. Once approved by the chair, it will be circulated to the members. The draft report and the Bill, as amended, will be considered by the committee. After adoption of the report by the committee, a date will be given by the chairperson to the members for giving dissent note/minute of dissent to the secretariat. After the examination of dissent note/minute of dissent by the Secretariat, the final report will be prepared. This will then be given to the Lok Sabha Speaker for his approval. After getting his approval, the draft report will be presented in the House.
The BJP-led NDA government had amended the Waqf Act of 1995, which was further amended in 2013.
This Bill has been in the works for the last few years, with the government having met various stakeholders, including members of the community, eminent jurists and lawyers.
Salient Features of Proposed Legislation
• The new legislation proposes the renaming of the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995
• The term Waqf will be clearly called or defined by a person practising Islam for at least five years and having ownership of such property
• It proposes not to deprive women of the right to inherit such property
• Survey Commissioner to the Collector or any other officer won’t be below the rank of Deputy Collector duly nominated by the Collector for the survey of Waqf properties
• Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards will ensure the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims
• A separate Board of Auqaf will be established for Boharas and Aghakhanis
• The board will have representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani and other backward classes among Muslim communities
• The registration of Waqf property must be through a central portal and database
• The legislation proposes providing for a detailed procedure for mutation as per revenue laws with due notice to all concerned before recording any property as Waqf property
• The new Act provides that the board no longer will be the sole authority to decide if a property is indeed Waqf property
• The Bill proposes decreasing the annual contribution from seven per cent to five per cent payable to the board by mutawalli of every Waqf having a net annual income of not less than Rs 5,000
• The Bill proposes providing for filing of accounts through a central portal for better control over their activities
• The new legislation proposes that the tribunal structure will be restructured with two members and providing for appeals against the orders of the tribunal to the high court within a specified period of 90 days
In August last year, the Union Cabinet gave its approval to this Bill. Waqf Boards have approximately over 8.7 lakh properties, totaling around 9.4 lakh acres. In 2013, the UPA government had given more powers to the Waqf Boards by amending the original Act.
The Waqf Act, 1995, was enacted to regulate ‘auqaf’ (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a Waqif — the person who dedicates a property for any purpose recognised by Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable.
The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session in 2024. On August 9, legislation was sent for Parliament scrutiny and a JPC was formed. So far, the committee has held 35 meetings in Parliament and has gone on tours on three occasions. They’ve covered states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam etc.
The first meeting of the JPC was held on August 22, 2024, and since then, a total of 35 meetings have taken place so far. More than 112 hours have gone into the discussion on the Bill. A total of 284 stakeholders have been consulted, which includes 49 in Delhi and 155 during study tours. Twenty-five state waqf boards and 15 state government representatives have deposed before the panel. Eight MPs, seven MLAs and five state ministers have deposed before the committee. Five minority commissions have appeared as witnesses in the committee.
On the front of public opinion being sought by the JPC, 92.28 lakh emails and 4.99 lakh physical representations have been received.
