Joint Parliamentary Committee to Discuss Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024

The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 will take place on August 22. The bill aims to redefine 'waqf,' ensure women's inheritance rights, and establish a separate Board of Auqaf for specific communities. Minority Affairs and Law Ministry representatives will also participate.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 will convene its inaugural meeting on August 22 at the Parliament House Annexe in the national capital. The committee is led by BJP member Jagdambika Pal.

During the meeting, representatives from the Minority Affairs Ministry will brief the committee members on the proposed amendments. Law Ministry officials will also be in attendance. The committee includes 21 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.

The government introduced the bill during the budget session of Parliament, which concluded earlier this month. It was then decided that the Joint Parliamentary Committee would examine the legislation for further scrutiny. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to rename the existing Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995.

The bill seeks to redefine 'waqf' as waqf created by any practicing Muslim for at least five years with ownership of the property. It aims to ensure that the formation of Waqf-alal-aulad does not infringe upon women's inheritance rights. The bill also proposes to eliminate the provisions of 'waqf by user', assign the functions of the Survey Commissioner to the Collector or designated Deputy Collector officers, and broaden the composition of the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards to include Muslim women and non-Muslims.

Additionally, the bill proposes establishing a separate Board of Auqaf for Boharas and Aghakhanis. It also seeks to eliminate section 40, which grants the Board authority to determine if a property is waqf property. It mandates the filing of waqf accounts by mutawallis via a central portal for improved oversight, reforms the Tribunal structure to include two members, and allows for appeals to the High Court within ninety days of Tribunal orders.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha, has indicated that the JPC aims to submit its report by the last day of the first week of the Parliament's winter session. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)