Waqf Bill: JPC Adopts Draft Legislation with 14 Amendments
![Waqf Bill: JPC Adopts Draft Legislation with 14 Amendments Waqf Bill: JPC Adopts Draft Legislation with 14 Amendments](https://www.deccanchronicle.com/h-upload/2025/01/29/1886128-aa-3908142.webp)
�New Delhi:�The Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday adopted the draft legislation with 14 amendments as suggested by the NDA members. The bill was adopted following a vote, in which the ruling party members defeated the Opposition MPs 15-11. Terming the entire exercise unconstitutional, the Opposition members in the JPC submitted dissent notes on the report. Among those who dissented were Trinamul Congress MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Nadimul Haque, DMK’s A. Raja, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi.
The revised bill will be submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday. JPC chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said: "The draft report and amended bill has been adopted by a majority. Now we will present it before the Speaker tomorrow.”
The Opposition MPs said that the 655-page draft report was circulated among the 31-member committee late Tuesday night and they got very little time to go through the voluminous document. “We received the 655-page report last night. It is humanly impossible to read a 655-page report overnight. I have given a dissent report against the amendments which are not in favour of the Waqf Board. I will also oppose this bill in Parliament," said Mr Owaisi.
Mr Pal claimed that amendments address some of the issues raised by the Opposition and the bill, once enacted, will help Waqf Board in discharging its duties transparently and more effectively. He added, for the first time, "pasmanda" (backward) Muslims, the poor, women and orphans have been included among beneficiaries of the waqf, an endowment made by Muslims for charitable religious purposes.
However, one of the main concerns of the Opposition was the appointment of non-Muslims on the Waqf Board, which they claimed was violative of Article 26 of the Constitution that granted citizens freedom to manage their religious affairs, including establishment and maintenance of institutions for religious and charitable purposes.
"You have violated our rights granted under Article 26 of the Constitution. You talked about Uniform Civil Code, but there are Hindu Endowment Board, Sikh Boards, Christian boards which do not have non-Hindus, non-Sikhs, and non-Christians as members. But why does this not extend to Muslims? This is an attempt to destroy the Waqf Boards," Congress member Imran Masood told the media.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed the observations and recommendations of the committee were "wholly perverse". He claimed statements of witnesses and the observations of the MPs were not taken into account. “The committee was duty bound to consider witnesses and our statements. But that did not happen. The proceedings turned into mockery. Why was this JPC constituted in the first place.? The report indicated it was made with a predetermined mind by the ruling side. What is the use of the whole exercise if this outcome was predetermined?” said Mr Banerjee.
"All these amendments are not in the interest of the waqf. These will destroy the Waqf Board and increase interference of the Central government in their functioning," said Mr Owaisi, adding the evacuee properties could also be taken over by the government now "This will not be acceptable to the masses, especially the Muslim community. We reject this Waqf amendment. Muslims will lose their masjids," Mr Owaisi further said.
According to the amendments accepted by the committee, the state Waqf Boards will now include one member from the Muslim OBC community, ensuring broader representation. It also has provisions that allow the state government to establish separate Waqf Boards for Aghakhani and Bohra communities and safeguard women's inheritance rights in Waqf Alal Aulad (family waqfs). The amendments also allow the income from Waqf Alal Aulad to support widows, divorced women, and orphans, if specified by the waqif (creator of the waqf).
The BJP members, however, said the bill seeks to bring modernity, transparency and accountability in the management of Waqf properties. "This report is a significant document that empowers the Muslim community," BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said.
While the adopted bill accepts the government's stand of removing the "waqf by user" clause in the existing law, it has added that no cases will be reopened against such properties on a retrospective basis provided these are not in dispute or belong to the government. The report made it clear that the provisions to omit the 'Waqf by user' definition of a Waqf property will be with prospective effect.
It has also endorsed the government's move to include non-Muslims in Waqf Boards, saying they can be "beneficiaries, parties to disputes, or otherwise interested in Waqf matters". It, however, does away with the enquiry power vested with the district collector concerned in cases of disputes with the government, giving the authority to the state government to designate an officer above the rank of collector to probe the matter and until the report is submitted, such government properties will not be treated as waqf. The Limitation Act will apply to all Waqf-related cases from the commencement of this act, ensuring timely resolution and preventing prolonged litigation. Waqf Boards must upload all Waqf property details on a central portal within six months. The Waqf Tribunal may grant extensions on a case-by-case basis.
"When you say that the Waqf Board will have non-Muslims. I fear that it might also affect the temple rules... If we believe the Constitution, then there would be parity, then Hindus will oppose. Similarly, Muslims have the right to speak. Why are they doing these things forcefully? On the other hand, everything is being centralised. The other thing is that people of the Waqf Board used to be elected, now they are saying that they will nominate. They will act arbitrarily. It is against the unity of the country,” said Mr Arvind Sawant.