New Delhi: Lawyers and Muslim bodies have raised concerns about how the new Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, deals with old concepts in the Waqf Act, and argued that it fails to address existing problems such as those related to praying in the open. Instead, they assert, it appears to raise new issues such as inadvertently blocking the creation of new waqf properties.
Senior advocate Mehmood Pracha organised a press conference in Delhi Monday where he urged Muslim organisations to avoid appearing before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to which the bill has been referred, citing their lack of knowledge about the details of the Waqf Act.
“It is not wise to speak with the committee without preparation. No one has prepared for this. This amendment is like a maze. This amendment should be completely rejected,” said Pracha, suggesting, instead, that they should request for three months’ time from the JPC to draft a new and comprehensive Waqf Act.
The draft should be presented to the JPC, posted on the Parliament’s website for public feedback, and then submitted to the JPC and Parliament, he said. The advocate also emphasised that the law should be prepared entirely by the Muslim community and should focus on strengthening the waqf, alleging that the new bill is aimed at weakening the waqf.
Criticising the new name of the bill—Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development—he said this was merely a façade to hide the bill’s true intention, which was exploitation.
“By some form of fraud, you (Muslims) will be misled. If this bill passes in Parliament, there will be no chance to protect the waqf in the future,” he further alleged.
The bill, presented in the Lok Sabha earlier this month, proposed 44 amendments to streamline the registration and management of waqf properties. Key changes included mandating waqf deeds for establishing waqf properties; creating a centralised registration system; and granting district collectors the authority to survey waqf properties.
The bill has invited criticism from various corners, including opposition parties and a section of the Muslim community, who allege that the amendments were brought in without any stakeholder consultation.
The Telangana Waqf Board became the first such body to oppose the bill Monday, referring to it as “unconstitutional” and unanimously resolving to reject the proposed amendments in a resolution.
Meanwhile, All India Muslim Personal Law Board spokesperson S.Q.R. Illyas said at an online programme Monday that his organisation had met with the JPC Friday to present its perspective and is now seeking another meeting with the committee. He said that they had told the JPC that the bill was introduced with the wrong intentions.
Also Read:At 1st JPC meet on Waqf Bill, all oppn parties object to inclusion of non-Muslims in waqf boards
Need to maintain ‘Once a waqf always a waqf’
Pracha emphasised Monday that any new Waqf Act must preserve the Muslim law principle of ‘once a waqf, always a waqf’. Under the principle, any property that is designated a waqf will stay waqf even if it remains unused.
“This property belongs to the Muslim community and was given by them. If this concept is tampered with, we cannot accept it under any circumstances and it should be discarded,” Pracha said at the press conference.
Speaking at the same online programme as Illyas, senior advocate M.R. Shamshad of the Supreme Court said the Waqf Act of 1995 ensured that the nature of waqf in India did not affect the law or the religion. “The waqf mechanism was created to balance between Islamic principles and Indian law,” he said.
The concept of ‘once a waqf, always a waqf’, which dates back to the pre-Independence era, remains in practice, and by making changes to such principles, the new bill would create significant divergence between the Indian waqf and Islamic waqf, where only minor differences existed before, he said.
He also criticised the proposed inclusion of non-Muslim members in state waqf boards and the Central Waqf Council. All opposition parties were opposed to this amendment during the first meeting of the JPC last week, ThePrint had reported.
‘Hinders creation of new waqf properties’
Shamshad also took issue with the provision that proposed giving powers to the district administration to survey waqf properties and redefining the powers of waqf tribunals.
“If all the powers of the waqf board are handed over to the collector, no Muslim will willingly give away their property,” said the Supreme Court lawyer. The new bill would thereby, inadvertently, prevent the creation of new waqf properties.
Pracha suggested that the Muslim community should elect waqf board members and that a ‘right to recall’ should be introduced to deter corruption.
He also questioned what would happen to ‘waqf by use’ properties, such as mosques, cemeteries, and shrines. These properties only continue to be waqf only if their nature remains unchanged, otherwise they cease to be waqf.
“We cannot say what effect this new bill will have on ‘waqf by use’ properties, as it will depend on the collector’s perspective on how they view the property’s history and use,” he added.
The management and use of each property is handled differently, similar to how private and public properties are managed and treated differently. Looking at the bill, it appears that waqf properties are being treated as government properties and the waqf board was being turned into a “post office,” as all powers are being transferred to the central government, he said.
“Waqf has been diluted in such a way that it will only be nominal,” he said.
Outlining the way forward
Pracha said the JPC process was useless. “The government is not obligated to follow the JPC’s recommendations. This process is completely useless.”
Instead, outlining a strategy for the future, Pracha recommended peaceful nationwide protests, under a “Save the Constitution” campaign.
Giving his recommendations for a new bill, he said it should impose strict punishments for encroachment on waqf properties, ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment, and grant waqf boards the power to seize properties similar to those provided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The law should also address the condition of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) properties, especially the maintenance of mosques, tombs, and shrines. This would help address issues like praying on the streets, he said.
In September, he said, he will hold a meeting with waqf experts and intellectuals to draft a white paper for a public waqf bill.
Shamshad, on the other hand, advised Muslim organisations to write an email to the JPC and request a personal hearing. He recommended that Muslim stakeholders address broader issues rather than small ones, focusing on issues related to waqf management and control of properties.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
Mr. Mehmood Pracha is grossly mistaken. The Islamic principle of “Once a Waqf, always a Waqf” cannot and must not be applicable within the sovereign territory of India. This principle is unacceptable under the Indian Constitution. The Constitution of India rules supreme over such idiotic religious principles.
As for Muslims, they got their “property” when they insisted on the division of British India and creation of an Islamic state of Pakistan. They have no moral right to lay claim to any more of land in the subcontinent.