The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024

The questioning of the 2024 amendment bill is not about introducing change or a fear of change, as some have argued. The proposed amendments, unlike the previous ones to the waqf laws, instead of making a bona fide step to better the waqf law (an option that is always available to all legislations), aim to dilute the entire institution of waqf through a politically controlled legal and administrative process.

It cannot be denied that the institution of waqf in India is facing challenges. Encroachment is a serious concern.

The 2024 Waqf Bill makes the District Collector, a government employee, the de facto custodian of waqf properties. The Bill further grants the Collector the authority to convert “waqf properties” into “government properties”.

 From comparing waqf to ‘jihad’ (an Arabic word that in its most general meaning means ‘struggle’ but is often used to fan Islamophobic propaganda) to Hindutva organisations repeatedly targeting waqf, the proposed legislation diluting the waqf does not come out of the blue.

The 2024 bill not only substantively reduces Muslim representation in both the Central Waqf Council and the Waqf Boards; it arbitrarily mandates non-Muslim representation in both the Central Waqf Council and the Waqf Boards. Why is this a problem? The answer to this question has its roots in the constitutional promise on equal protection of the law and the guarantee under Article 26. Article 26 of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental freedom to every religious denomination to manage its own affairs in matters of religion. As such, there are laws in UP, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, etc. mandating the representation of a person professing the Hindu faith for managing Hindu Temples and their properties. The GurudwaraParbhandak Committee members must also be from the Sikh community. The Wakf amendment bill arbitrarily reduces Muslim representation and also mandates non-Muslim representation in the administration of the waqf. 

The bill thoughtlessly erodes provisions which has the overriding effect on inconsistent laws in other statutes, removes of the application of the Waqf Act to evacuee property, and dilutes the punishment for alienation of Waqf properties.

The present Bill, ironically, limits Muslim women’s representation to “two,” which was earlier “at least two.”

The bill reduces the waqf tribunal membership from three to two members, and the provision of post of a member who knows Muslim law and jurisprudence has been omitted. It creates room for governmental interference in the waqf asset management system and the auditing of waqf through the CAG’s office. The bill replaces the ‘election’ of state waqf board members with ‘nomination’ by the state governments.

[Contributed by M R Shamshad, a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India and Nabeela Jamil, an advocate at the Supreme Court of India and an LLM student at SOAS University of London.]

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 25, Dec 15 - 21, 2024