Recently, after the ongoing discussion in the country, the Waqf Board Bill was passed after a long debate in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. With this, the people of the country also witnessed the longest debate in the Lok Sabha till date, which lasted for about 15 hours and 41 minutes. In this 15-hour debate, 12 hours were spent only on the Waqf Bill. In the Lok Sabha, 288 votes were cast in favor of this bill and 232 against it.
It was also introduced in the Rajya Sabha the very next day. The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha began at 1 pm. After the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha which lasted for about 12 hours, 128 votes were cast in favor of this bill while 98 votes were cast against it. This proceeding of the Rajya Sabha was the second longest proceeding till date.
This bill, introduced in Parliament last year, was sent to the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) for scrutiny. The JPC was constituted on 9 August 2024 last year under the chairmanship of BJP MP Jagdambika Pal. The JPC presented its report to the Union Cabinet on 13 February, which was approved six days later. This panel included 20 Lok Sabha members and 10 Rajya Sabha members.
UMEED
The law will have a new name after its passage.
The minister said that the law that will be implemented after the passage of this bill has been given a new name ‘Umeed’ (Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) Act, which no one should object to. He clarified that if the matter related to Waqf has been resolved, then the provisions of this bill will not apply to such cases, but if a case is pending in the court, then nothing can be done for it. He said that the provisions of this bill will help in the welfare of the poor Muslims of the country and their upliftment due to better management of the properties under the Waqf Board.
The Minister of Minority Affairs said that a provision has been made in the bill that if a person wants to waqf his land, then the property owned by a widow or divorced woman or orphan children cannot be waqfed.
ASI vs Waqf
The ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) in one of its internal surveys found that around 250 of its protected monuments are currently registered as Waqf properties. The Indian Express quoted its sources as saying that such sites of the ASI are spread across most parts of the country. These include Jama Masjid in Ferozshah Kotla, Chhoti Gumti Maqbara in RK Puram, Hauz Khas Masjid and Idgah etc.
The history of the ASI is as old as the history of the first war of independence of our country. The ASI was founded by Alexander Cunningham in 1861 while the Waqf Board was established in 1954. The Waqf Act 1995 empowers the board to declare any property or building in its name as Waqf property. Using this power, the board has issued a notification under the Ancient Monuments and Monuments and Architecture Act (AMASR), 1958 to declare protected monuments as Waqf property contrary to the powers given by the government.
Now as per the rules of this new bill, the monuments or land under National Monuments and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) cannot be declared as Waqf property. Minister Kiren Rijiju said that today more than 31 thousand cases related to Waqf are pending, therefore the Waqf Tribunal has been strengthened
Non-Muslims in Waqf Institution
The new bill allows non-Muslims to be appointed to the Central Waqf Council, State Waqf Boards and Waqf Tribunals as well as other main Waqf institutions. It also makes it mandatory to have at least two non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Board.
The State Waqf Board will have 11 members. The board will have a chairman, one MP, one MLA, four members from the Muslim community, two members with professional experience, one member of the Bar Council and a joint secretary of the state government. Out of the four members from the Muslim community, two will be women.
The Limitation act 1963
The bill repeals Section 107 of the 1995 Act, which was not implemented by the Limitation Act of 1963, and reinstates it as a new one. The bill ensures that any person who has personally used a Waqf property for more than 12 years can claim the land through adverse possession.
Central Registration Portal
The Bill proposes a central portal to enhance the updation of Waqf property records. Under this system, all the information of Waqf properties will be uploaded on a designated portal within 6 months from the date of enactment of the Act. Any new Waqf property will be submitted to respective Waqf Boards through this portal.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 introduces significant changes in the compositions of the Central Waqf Council, waqf boards & tribunals.
— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) April 3, 2025
Let’s take a closer look.#WaqfAmendmentBill2025 #WaqfBill #WaqfBoard pic.twitter.com/4OHQnUqGcA
Declaration of Waqf property
It also proposes that only ‘practising Muslims’ (for at least five years) will be able to get their property declared as Waqf.
It is also provided in the act that women will be given their inheritance before the property is declared as Waqf and special provision has been made for widows, divorced women and orphans.
Judiciary
According to the new bill, now the aggrieved person can appeal against the final decision made by the Waqf Tribunal on any disputed property in the High Court. The main purpose of this provision is to curb the power and arbitrary decisions of the Waqf Board. Before this provision, the decision of the Waqf Tribunal was the final decision. If any person wants to challenge the decision of the Waqf Tribunal, then he can appeal in the High Court within 90 days.
OPPOSITION ON BILL
In the two-day debate on the Waqf Bill in Parliament, the opposition termed the bill as unconstitutional. Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi called the bill an open attack on the Constitution.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that his party will challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 in the Supreme Court.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has also said that he will challenge this bill in the Supreme Court. Along with this, they passed a resolution opposing this bill in the assembly.
The leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Subhashini Ali, alleged that the government is using this bill to polarize voters in the elections to be held in Bihar.
The All India Muslim Law Board has considered this bill against the principles of religion. They say that only Muslims should run such religious institutions. They have appealed to all the Muslims of the country to oppose the bill.
While many Muslims are very happy with this bill of the government, they believe that the Waqf Board is suffering from problems like corruption and poor management as well as encroachment.
