The Lok Sabha on April 2, 2025, passed the Waqf Amendment Bill with a majority of 288 votes. It proposes sweeping reforms that would expand the government라이브 바카라 role in regulating waqf properties and adjudicating disputes related to them.
The Revised Waqf Bill
The ‘Waqf by user’ doctrine
The Waqf Bill had originally removed the concept of “waqf by user”, which recognised the religious and endowment nature of the properties based on their uninterrupted communal use, even in the absence of formal documentation. This is based on Islamic law. Traditionally, graveyards, shrines and mosques were bequeathed through oral declarations or customary practices, with their waqf status being established through uninterrupted public use of the property over several generations.
However, the had warned that removing this practice would harm the legal standing of such properties, a large number of which have been informally managed by local communities for years.
Based on this warning, the revised Bill now says that “waqf by user” properties registered on or before the Bill becomes an Act will remain at status quo unless there are disputes on them, or they have been designated as government property. This amendment seeks to assuage the concerns that the new Act would strip existing properties of their protected status.
However, critics have pointed out that the inclusion of a provision that individuals will have to “show or demonstrate that they have been practicing Islam for at least five years” to establish a waqf is arbitrary and unfair, in particular to new converts.
Inclusion of Non-Muslims in Waqf Institutions
The new Bill has mandated that non-Muslims would be appointed to several waqf institutes such as the Central Waqf Council, State Waqf Boards, and waqf tribunals. The Centre must nominate two members of the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha to the Central Waqf Council and they need not be Muslim. The Bill also allows for a non-Muslim Chief Executive Officer to be appointed. The Bill further states that the State government official on the Waqf Board must be a Joint Secretary-level officer “dealing with waqf matters”. However, non-Muslims will still remain a minority in institutions.
The Bill has also revised the composition of the waqf tribunals. Now, there will be three members on the body—a district judge, a State government appointed joint secretary-level officer, and an expert in Muslim law and jurisprudence. The tribunals constituted before the law라이브 바카라 enactment will function as is until the their chairperson and members finishes their terms.
Government oversight in waqf property surveys
The original Bill said that district collectors or officers of equivalent rank would be authorised to survey waqf properties. However, this was changed once the JPC라이브 바카라 recommended that senior officers above the rank of district collectors should conduct the surveys, especially where the dispute is over government ownership of the property. However, the new Bill also says that these government officers will effectively replace waqf tribunals as they will have the final say over the disputes.
The new Bill further says that the officers will have to submit a final report before any property is classified as waqf. If the officer determines that a property belongs to the government, they will update revenue records and report to the State government. The government will then tell the Waqf Board to amend its records.
The government has said it is implementing this change because of alleged misuse of qaqf laws. During parliamentary hearing on April 2, Mr. Rijiju chastised the UPA government라이브 바카라 decision to transfer 123 waqf properties in Delhi to the city라이브 바카라 Waqf Board. The Centre had earlier constituted a two-member committee headed by Justice SP Garg to look into this decision.
Registration portal
The revised Bill continues the portions which establish a centralised registration system. As such, muttawalis (custodians) have six months after the Bill is passed to upload all information regarding waqf properties to a designated portal. Additionally, any new waqf property registrations must be submitted exclusively through this portal to the respective Waqf Boards.
There is a concession in the revised Bill which allows the requisite waqf tribunal to extend the six-month deadline. If a custodian submits an application showing reasonable cause for failing to file the property details within the stipulated period, the tribunal can grant an extension for any duration it deems appropriate.
Application of Limitation
The Bill repeals Section 107 of the 1995 Act, which had rendered the Limitation Act, 1963 (1963 Act) as not applicable to waqf properties. This provision was not there in the previous version of the Bill. Section 107 exempted waqf boards from the 12-year limitation period for reclaiming encroached properties.
Opposition leaders such as AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi have said that removing this exemption could mean that people who have squatted on waqf properties for over 12 years would now be able to claim ownership.
Judicial Review
The new Bill, as the old Act, allows for judicial intervention in waqf disputes. Aggrieved parties are allowed to appeal to the requisite High Court within three months of receiving the tribunal라이브 바카라 order. This provision aims to stop the Waqf Boards from exercising their power in an arbitrary manner.
Interestingly, the Bill says the courts cannot entertain suits about the enforcement of any right unless the concerned waqf property has been registered within six months of the law라이브 바카라 commencement, unless the court finds “sufficient cause” for the delay.
