Jagdambika Pal, the chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that will discuss the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2014, said that the law needs reform as many properties classified as Waqf have been encroached and misused.
Pal, a senior Lok Sabha member and a BJP Member of Parliament said this at a meeting with members of the Ulema or religious leaders on Sunday afternoon at the Islam Gymkhana on Marine Drive. More than 200 members of Muslim religious trusts attended the meeting organised by the All India Sunni Jamiat Ulema, a Sunni organisation, to voice the Muslim community’s concerns that the law will undermine their religious rights. They submitted a memorandum with their suggestions, objections, and recommendations for the law.
The bill was introduced by the BJP in the Lok Sabha on August 8 but was referred to the JPC after opposition from other parties. The 31-member committee consists of 21 Lok Sabha MPs and 10 Rajya Sabha members. The group is scheduled to have its first meeting on August 22. Pal was in Mumbai to interact with members of the Muslim community and gather feedback on the proposed changes in the current legislation enacted in 1995.
Jagdambika Pal, Lok Sabha member and a BJP Member of Parliament | FPJ
“This is an informal meeting. We have heard them and will put forward their suggestions and concerns to the JPC. The committee will find these suggestions useful for bringing the discussion on the law to a logical end,” said Pal.
Pal said that the committee will ensure that the special needs of every Muslim sect, including the Deobandis, Barelvis, Wahabis, Shia, Ahl-e-Hadis, and others will be accomodated in the new law. “We feel it is a good law. We will see what we can do to prevent encroachments and to ensure that benefits of Waqf properties are passed on to the community, its women and children,” said Pal.
He said that there were limitations in the current law as it does not allow appeals in the high courts against judgments by the Waqf tribunals, which have jurisdiction over properties listed under the Waqf Act.
The bill, which proposes renaming of the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, has proposed recomposition of the Central Waqf Council and the state Waqf boards to ensure the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies. The bill also proposes the establishment of a separate board for Shia sub-sects like Bohras and Agakhanis. The bill also seeks to curb powers of the Waqf board to decide if a property is Waqf and the district collector proposed as the new authority for this purpose.
Syed Jameel Razvi of Raza Academy, one of the groups that participated in the meeting, said that one of their demands was that properties called Atia Shahis – land and property grants by a king to Inamdars, should not be listed as Waqf as the recipient of the grant has a right to take a share of the income.
Maulana Moinuddin Ashraf Ashrafi Al Jilani, chairman of All India Sunni Jamiat, said that they opposed the amendment that will give the Comptroller and Auditor General the power to audit any Waqf institution. The memorandum also suggested the creation of a separate ‘Dargah Board’ to govern sufi shrines and khanqahs.
The All India Ulema Board has claimed that 70% of Waqf land across the country have been encroached during the last 70 years. At a recent meeting organised by the board, which was attended by Member of Legislative Assembly from Mumbadevi, Amin Patel, delegates asked whether it is possible to reclaim the properties that have been lost.
