Explainer: What Is Existing Waqf Act? Can The Board Tag Any Property As Waqf Asset?
The BJP-led Union government is all geared up to make a set of controversial amendments to the Waqf Act, which will reportedly reduce the power of the Waqf Board. A total of 40 amendments have been cleared, as per a report by India Today, citing government sources. The bill to amend the act will likely be introduced in the coming week.
According to the proposed amendments approved by the Union cabinet on Friday, the claims made by the Waqf Board on properties would undergo a mandatory verification, barring the board from tagging assets as under its jurisdiction. Currently, the board has over 8.7 lakh properties across the country, totaling around 9.4 lakh acres under its jurisdiction, reportedly constituting the third largest owner of land after the Indian Armed Forces and the Railways.
Can Waqf Board Tag Any Asset As Waqf Under Present Sections Of The Act?
Notably, the impending amendments come after years of alleged misleading claims by certain people that the Waqf board has the power to declare any property as Waqf asset. Taking note of the huge share of land, the right-wing groups have been campaigning to regulate the power of the board, claiming that many lost their lands due to the unchecked power granted to the board. Surprisingly, misleading claims and articles have appeared even in the mainstream media, asserting that the land of Hindus was grabbed by the board as Waqf asset.
Contrary to the fake claims, the current provision under Section 40 of the Waqf Act, 1995, says Waqf is the “permanent dedication by any person of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognized by the Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable.” The board can only claim properties donated by a follower of Islam for religious or social purposes.
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Citing SMH Zaidi, a Waqf rules expert news portal The Quint reported that the board can only claim properties that have been donated by a person following the religion of Islam and should be donated for religious or social work but are not being used for the same. The Waqf Board can never claim private properties or send notice on the property of a non-Muslim person.
When it comes to claiming an asset as Waqf, the sections emphasise that if the board has any reason to believe that the property of any registered trust or registered society belongs to the Waqf, it can send a notice to them, initiate an inquiry on it and concludes the ownership of the contended property.
What Led The Government To Amend The Law
In 2023, the Union Government told the Delhi High Court that nearly 120 writ petitions challenging one or more provisions of the Waqf Act were pending before various courts in the country.
A PIL petition filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar challenged certain provisions of the Waqf Act and demanded a uniform law for trusts and trustees, charities, and charitable institutions. In his petition, he stated that Waqf properties cannot enjoy any “special rights” that have not been given to the trusts and charitable and religious institutions run by non-Islamic religious groups. Noting that there were no similar laws for followers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism, Bahaism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity, he claimed that the law was against the secularism and integrity of the country.
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The petitioner also alleged that the Waqf Act has given wide and uncontrolled powers to Waqf Board, so much so that it can question any property belonging to any trust or society and has the power to declare the same as waqf property.
It is said that the amendment was made taking note of the rights of state Waqf Boards and to prevent misuse of properties. However, amid the increasing so-called “JCB onslaught” on Muslim structures, including mosques, houses, Darghas, and other complexes, the minorities suspect the government’s move to impose a curb on the power of the Waqf Board.
As the government goes ahead with the bill ahead of the assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand with its political significance, it is yet to see how the opposition parties and Muslims bodies would react to the controversial amendments.
