Govt sends Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 to Joint Parliamentary Committee for wider scrutiny amid opposition uproar

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 in Parliament on Thursday, proposed to send it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for wider scrutiny. The government will “constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee and refer the bill to it for wider scrutiny. Discuss the bill extensively, call more stakeholders, listen to their opinions. Pass this [Bill] to the committee, and in future we will listen to their suggestion with open heart”, the minister told Parliament.

According to its statement of objects and reasons, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeks to omit Section 40 of the current law relating to the powers of the board to decide if a property is Waqf.

Rijiju defended the bill which the Opposition called “unconstitutional”. Many opposition MPs, who had given notices to oppose the bill, alleged that the proposed legislation was an "attack on the Constitution and federalism". However, Rijiju claimed that there were many senior leaders in the Opposition who approved the Bill in private.

Responding to the concerns flagged by opposition members, Rijiju said there will be no interference with freedom of any religious body in the Waqf bill. He asserted that no provision of the Constitution had been violated in the draft law.

What is Waqf bill?

The amended bill provides for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and the state Waqf boards and ensures the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies. The Wakf (Amendment) Act, 2013 provided that "at least two of the members appointed under sub-clauses (i) to (viii) shall be women."

The new bill also gives women positions as members but adds that "the creation of waqf-alal-aulad does not lead to the denial of inheritance rights to women".

The bill also proposes the establishment of a separate board for Boharas and Aghakhanis. The draft law provides for the representation of Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, Agakhanis and other backward classes among Muslim communities. It aims to clearly define "Waqf as Waqf by any person practising Islam for at least five years and having ownership of such property."

The controversial Waqf bill omits section 40 relating to the powers of the board to decide if a property is owned by Waqf.

One of its objectives is streamlining the manner of registration of Waqfs through a central portal and database. A detailed procedure is established for mutation as per revenue laws with due notice to all concerned before recording any property as a Waqf property.

The Wakf Act, 1995, was brought to regulate 'Auqaf' (assets donated and notified as Waqf) by a 'wakif' (the person who dedicates a property for any purpose recognised by Muslim law as religious or charitable).

The Act was last amended in 2013.