The 2024 Waqf Bill needs review.

• The Constitution, Part III, guarantees religious denominations the right to manage their own affairs in matters of religion, including property acquisition, ownership, and administration.
• The state is prohibited from making laws that abridge these rights, making any law contravening this clause void.

The Waqf Bill 2024: Infringements and Restrictions
• The Uttar Pradesh Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983 and the Religious Endowments Act, 1863 state that non-Hindus cannot be members of its management.
• The Minority Affairs Ministry proposes to reserve seats for non-Muslims in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards, and remove the statutory requirement of being Muslim for a majority of the seats in these bodies.

The Role of the Central Waqf Council (CWC)
• The CWC, the apex body of waqf management, should have been the primary source of information collection.
• The Ministry has kept the CWC’s statutory membership vacant for two years, violating Section 9 of the existing waqf law.
• The 2024 Bill has been drafted by the Ministry, leaving out the Muslim community, whose input could have been made possible through the CWC.

Reconstitute the CWC in India
• The Ministry should promptly reconstitute the CWC in accordance with existing waqf law.
• The reconstituted council should oversee the collection of facts, data, and views with state Waqf Boards, mutawallis, and national-level Muslim non-government organizations.
• The 2024 Bill proposes to reduce the mandate of 100% statutory Muslim membership in the CWC and State Waqf Boards to less than 50%.
• The proposal also proposes dropping the requirement of the CWC Secretary and CEOs of all State Waqf boards being Muslim.
• There is confusion regarding the proposal to have at least two women in the CWC and in the State Waqf Boards.
• The Bill proposes to remove the expert on Muslim law from the Waqf tribunal’s bench, do away with the finality of the tribunal’s orders, and waters down the level of punishment in violations of the law by encroachers.
• It also proposes to derecognise all ‘waqfs-by-user’ and enjoins the central government to create and control a new portal for every existing waqf to re-register itself supported by the original waqf deed.
• The Bill should be returned to the Ministry due to procedural irregularities, infringements, retrograde steps, irrationalities, non-justifications, and preconceived notions.