What is Waqf Board: Waqf Amendment Bill 2025
A Waqf Board is a legal entity responsible for managing waqf properties, ensuring their use for intended religious, pious, or charitable purposes. It is established at the state level and acts as a statutory body to oversee properties donated under Islamic law. The board has the authority to acquire, hold, and transfer property, and it operates under the provisions of Islamic law to ensure proper administration and management of waqf assets.
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History of the waqf: Waqf Law Amendment Act 2025
- The word waqf has its origin in the Arabic word “Waqufa,” meaning to detain or to hold or tie up.
- Waqf in Islamic law refers to a charitable endorsement where an individual dedicates property for a religious or philanthropic purpose.
- Once designated as waqf, the properties cannot be transferred through inheritance, sold, or given away.
Waqf structures: Waqf Law Amendment Act 2025
Three key parties in the waqf structures.
- The waqif is the founder who establishes the waqf, either through a written declaration or by verbal expressions of their intent to dedicate the property.
- The beneficiaries, transferred to as mawquf alayh, are those who benefit from the waqf.
- The mutawalli, or trustee, who is responsible for managing the waqf.
Origin of Waqf law in law
The origin of waqf law in India can be traced back to the pre-colonial era, where Islamic rulers and nobles frequently endowed properties for religious and charitable purposes.
- In pre-colonial India, Hindus and Muslims followed their laws in family affairs, while the judicial system was based on multiple layers governing communities and different aspects of life.
- The British political system replaced that system with a uniform judiciary, waqf cases were frequently brought before the Privy Council from the various Muslim populated realigns within the British Empire.
- The British legal system refused to recognise family waqf as a legitimate institution in the late 19th century.
- Such a waqf remained invalid for two decades before the promulgation of the Musselman Waqf Validating Act in 1913.
How it has evolved after independence
In 1954, the waqf act, was enacted to provide a comprehensive framework for the registrations, management and supervision of waqf properties across the country. This law was subsequently repealed by the waqf act of 1955, which is the current governing legislations. The 2013 amendments further straightened the authority of the waqf board while introducing stringent measures tic rub illegal alienation of waqf properties.
- The 1955 act outlines several key provisions regarding the delineation of waqf properties, the constitution of state waqf boards and the establishment of the central waqf council.
- The act mandates that every state must appoint a survey commissioner to identify and delineate waqf properties. These are then recorded in the state official gazette, and list is maintained by the state waqf board.
- The act establishes waqf boards in every state and union territory. These boards are statutory bodies responsible for the general administration of the waqf properties within their jurisdiction.
- The act also establishes the central waqf council, a national level advisory body under the ministry of minority affairs.
Total properties in the name of Waqf
- Property: 9.4 Lakhs Akor
- Immovable Property: 8,72,805
- Movable Property’s: 16,716
- In the name of Brutal: 1.5 Lakhs
- In the name of Majid: 1.19 Lakhs
- Encroachment on property: 58,890
Difference between old Waqf act and New Waqf Act 2025
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 introduces several key changes to the Waqf Act of 1995, aiming to improve transparency and governance in managing waqf properties. Here are some of the major differences:
| Old Waqf Law (1995 Act) | New Waqf Law (2024 Amendment) |
|---|---|
| The Waqf Board could claim any property as waqf, and the claimant could only appeal to the Waqf Tribunal. | Claimants can now appeal in Revenue Court, Civil Court, or High Court, in addition to the Tribunal. |
| The decision of the Waqf Tribunal was final and could not be challenged in any other court. | Appeals against the Tribunal’s decision can now be made in the High Court. |
| Any land with a mosque or used for Islamic religious purposes was automatically considered waqf property. | Land will only be considered waqf property if it has been donated to waqf. |
| Only Muslim members were allowed in the Waqf Board. | The new amendment mandates the inclusion of two women and two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board. |
| The Waqf Board could claim government-owned property. | Government property is excluded from waqf claims. |
| The Central Waqf Council had three MPs, all of whom had to be Muslim. | The Central Government can now appoint three MPs, and they don’t have to be Muslim. |
