The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 scraps Section 40, ending the Waqf Board’s unchecked power to declare any land as Waqf property. Now, only District Collectors can decide, and High Court appeals are allowed.
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NEW DELHI: The Indian government has brought a big change in the Waqf Act by introducing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The most important change is the removal of Section 40, which earlier allowed the Waqf Board to convert any land into Waqf property, without asking the owner.
Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju called this part of the law the “most draconian” rule. During the discussion in Parliament, he said,
“The most draconian provision in the Act was Section 40, under which the Waqf Board could declare any land Waqf property. But we have removed that provision.”
Rijiju spoke in Parliament to support the Bill after presenting it in the Lok Sabha. He said that the new law will not take away any land from the Muslim community, even though some leaders from the Opposition are saying so. He made it clear that the Bill has a retrospective effect, meaning it will apply to cases from the past too.
He also said the Bill will now be called the UMEED Bill, which stands for Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Bill.
He further said that Section 40 was being misused by some people for their own benefit, which caused a big rise in Waqf properties. Rijiju said,
“That is why Waqf property increased by lakhs.”
Before this change, under Section 40 of the Waqf Act, the Waqf Board had the power to decide whether a property should be marked as Waqf property. Their decision was final unless changed by the Waqf Tribunal.
Also, once the Tribunal gave a decision, people were not allowed to challenge it in court. This was written clearly in the Waqf Act and was mentioned by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
But the new Bill now removes this rule. Now, if someone is unhappy with the Waqf Tribunal’s decision, they can go to the High Court within 90 days.
According to Rijiju, there are more than 14,000 court cases currently going on about Waqf properties. He added,
“If unhappy with Waqf Board and Tribunal decisions, one can now approach the courts,”
saying that the legal process has now been made easier for common people.
As per the new Bill, the power to decide whether a property is Waqf or not will now be with the District Collector, not the Waqf Board.
Leaders from the BJP have said that Section 40 was misused, and because of that, many private lands were wrongly taken over and made Waqf properties. This caused tension between different communities in the country.
Kiren Rijiju also said,
“The Catholic Christian community wants the Waqf Bill to be passed at the earliest.”
He gave an example from Cherai village in Kochi, Kerala. In this fishing village, more than 600 Christian families and a church complained to the Joint Parliamentary Committee that their land was being wrongly claimed as Waqf land.
Another example was from Jathlana village in Haryana, where land belonging to a gurdwara was being claimed as Waqf property.
The UMEED Bill also removes the old rule of ‘Waqf by user’, which allowed any place to become Waqf property if it was used for religious purposes for a long time.
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As per the new rule, only a Muslim person who has been practising Islam for at least five years can declare a property as Waqf, and the property must be owned by that person.
To explain how the old law was being misused, Rijiju said that even important government buildings like the Parliament building, Delhi airport, and the CGO complex could have been wrongly declared as Waqf property. The new law wants to stop such things from happening.
With Section 40 now removed, no one can now just declare land as Waqf without following proper process.
He clearly said that the new amendment will allow people from different religious backgrounds and women to be part of the board.
He pointed out that currently there are no women members in the Central Waqf Council, which controls the Waqf Boards across India. But under this new bill, there will now be mandatory inclusion of two women, and up to four non-Muslim experts can also be added.
“At present, there are no women in the Waqf Board. Under the new amendment, Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, Agha Khanis, backward Muslims, women, and non-Muslim experts will all be represented,”
-he said.
To make it more relatable, Rijiju gave his own example. He explained how a non-Muslim like him, who is the Minority Affairs Minister, can still be the Chairman of the Central Waqf Council.
This shows that even non-Muslims can be involved in Waqf matters for better representation.
“I’ll give my own example. Suppose I am not a Muslim but I am the Minority Affairs Minister. Then I become Chairman of the Central Waqf Council. Despite my position, there can be a maximum of four non-Muslim members in the Council, and among them, two women members are compulsory.”
He also explained why non-Muslims should be included in the Waqf Board. According to him, the Waqf Board is not the owner of any Waqf land or property but only acts as a manager or caretaker. He compared this to how even temple management is handled by non-Hindus in some court cases, saying that such duties are secular in nature.
“You should welcome everyone. There is no need for anyone to object,”
–Rijiju added.
Rijiju gave more information about the structure of the Central Waqf Council under the new law. The Council will now have 22 members, with not more than four being non-Muslims, and at least two of them must be women.
He also shared that the Council will have three ex-officio members, three MPs from different religious communities, and judges from the Supreme Court and High Courts. The State Waqf Boards will also be restructured in a similar way. Each board will have 11 members, and at least two of them must be Muslim women.
While responding to criticism from the opposition, especially the Congress party, Rijiju accused them of spreading false information just for political gain. He assured the public that the bill is not meant to harm Muslims or take away their rights.
“No land will be snatched under the Waqf bill.”
He dismissed the rumours and fears about the bill, firmly stating that Muslim rights and properties are safe under the new law.
“No land will be snatched under the Waqf bill.”
Kiren Rijiju clearly told the Parliament that the new Waqf Bill is not against any religion or community, and that it has been brought to make the management of waqf properties better and more transparent in the country.
He said the bill would not take away any rights from Muslims and tried to clear all doubts by saying:
“No land will be snatched under the Waqf Bill.”
The Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, plans to make changes to the original Waqf Act of 1995. According to the government, this new bill will solve earlier problems and help Waqf Boards to work more smoothly and efficiently. It also promotes digital record-keeping and aims to make the registration of Waqf properties faster and more accurate.
In his speech, Rijiju explained how this bill was discussed in great detail by a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament. He said that such deep discussion has never happened before in India’s parliamentary history.
He said:
“I want to say that the discussion that has taken place on the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Joint Committee of both the Houses has never been done in the parliamentary history of India till date. I thank and congratulate all the members of the Joint Committee…Till date, a total of 284 delegations from the state holders of different communities have presented their views and suggestions before the committee. Waqf boards of 25 state governments and union territories have also presented their submissions…”
Rijiju also spoke about an old court case from 1970 related to several important government properties in Delhi, including the CGO Complex and even the Parliament building itself. He said that the Delhi Waqf Board had claimed those properties as Waqf land and that the earlier UPA government had made decisions that could have serious impacts today.
He warned that if changes were not made now, the Parliament building itself could have been declared as Waqf land.
He said:
“A case ongoing since 1970 in Delhi involved several properties, including the CGO Complex and the Parliament building. The Delhi Waqf Board had claimed these as Waqf properties. The case was in court, but at that time, the UPA government denotified 123 properties and handed them over to the Waqf Board. If we had not introduced this amendment today, even the Parliament building we are sitting in could have been claimed as Waqf property. If PM Modi Govt did not come into power, several properties would have been de-notified…”
Rijiju also accused the Congress Party of making confusing changes to the Waqf Act in 2013, just before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He said that Congress allowed non-Muslims like Hindus, Sikhs, and Parsis to create Waqf, which goes against the very concept of Waqf being a religious endowment made only by Muslims in the name of Allah.
He said Congress even gave special powers to Shia boards and included a section that gave Waqf more power than other laws, which he said is not acceptable.
He added:
“In 2013, right before Lok Sabha elections in 2014, there were some steps taken which will raise questions in your mind. In 2013, the act was changed to allow Sikhs, Hindus, Parsis and others to create Waqf. Everyone knows Waqf is for Muslims to create Waqf in the name of Allah. This change was made by Congress in 2013. Congress made the boards specifics, only Shias in Shia boards…A section was added that Waqf will have an overriding effect over every other law. How can this section be acceptable?…”
The bill is currently under discussion, and both supporters and critics are watching closely. The government says it is trying to protect national interests and ensure justice for all communities, while the Opposition says they need to study the bill carefully to safeguard minority rights.
While introducing the Bill, Kiren Rijiju appreciated the efforts of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that worked hard on the bill. He said that the committee discussed the matter in detail and gave good suggestions. He congratulated them by saying,
“I congratulate members of the JPC for its thorough deliberations and recommendations.”
However, Rijiju also said that even though the changes in the bill are positive and useful, some people are still questioning them. He added that there are people who are spreading confusion and provoking others who are connected to this issue. He warned that such actions could mislead those involved.
Rijiju said,
“The provisions introduce positive changes but they are still being questioned.”
He further pointed out that
“those involved in the bill are being provoked and misled.”
The Minister also spoke about how waqf laws have been made and changed in India over time. He explained that a lot of people and organizations took part in the process of making this new amendment. According to him, more than 7,700 petitions were received during the consultation period, which is the highest number ever received for any law in India. In addition, 248 delegations and waqf boards from 25 states and union territories gave their suggestions and opinions to the JPC.
Rijiju proudly stated,
“Recommendations were received from over 7,700 petitions during consultation, the highest ever for any legislation. 248 delegations and waqf boards of 25 states and union territories gave their recommendations to JPC.”
While speaking in the Lok Sabha, Rijiju also strongly criticised the previous UPA government for the amendment it made to the Waqf Act in 2013. He said that the way the law was changed during that time gave it more power than other laws. This, he argued, was not right. Rijiju said,
“The Act was given overriding effect over other legislations.”
To highlight the seriousness of the issue, Rijiju made a shocking statement, saying that if this new bill had not been brought forward, even the Parliament building could have been claimed as waqf property. He said,
“If we had not come up with this legislation, even parliament building would have been claimed as waqf.”
After his statement, there was a lot of noise and protest inside the house, showing how controversial and sensitive this matter is.
Waqf refers to properties dedicated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law, such as maintaining mosques and graveyards, establishing educational institutions and healthcare facilities, or providing financial aid to the poor and disabled.
Any other use or sale of these properties is prohibited.
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