Waqf Amendment Bill tabled in Lok Sabha for consideration and passage

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday tabled the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 as proposed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passage reported news agency PTIThe bill seeks to improve the administration of Waqf properties introduce technologydriven management address complexities and ensure transparencyIntroducing the bill Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee JPC was the largestever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in Indias democratic history reported PTIHe said over 9727 lakh petitions and memorandums were received by the JPC through physical and online formats and the JPC had gone through each of them before finalising its reportThe minister said as many as 284 delegations submitted their views on the bill besides the Waqf boards of 25 states and Union TerritoriesLegal luminaries charitable organisations academicians and religious leaders among others have also submitted their opinions he saidThe government is not going to interfere in any religious institution The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes hence the new amendments were required Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protest reported PTIYou tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill Rijiju told the opposition reported PTIThis bill has nothing to do with religion but deals only with properties he addedAccording to the bill trusts created by Muslims under any law will no longer be considered Waqf ensuring full control over the trustsAs per the bill only practising Muslims for at least five years can dedicate their property to Waqf restoring pre2013 rules Also women must receive their inheritance before the Waqf declaration with special provisions for widows divorced women and orphans reported PTIThe bill also proposes that an officer above the rank of collector will investigate government properties claimed as WaqfIn case of disputes the senior government official will have the final say on whether a property belongs to Waqf or the government This replaces the existing system where such decisions are made by Waqf tribunalsAlso the bill proposes that nonMuslim members will be included in the central and state Waqf boards for inclusivityWomen must receive their inheritance before the Waqf declaration with special provisions for widows divorced women and orphansEarlier Speaker Om Birla rejected the oppositions objections that the government has no power to insert new provisions in the amended bill reported PTIUnion Home Minister Amit Shah said the bill was tabled after a long process of consultations carried out by the JPCShah said the bill was first introduced in August 2024 after which as sought by the House it was referred to the JPC which held long consultations on itThe JPC report was approved by the Union Cabinet before the bill was tabled in the HouseThis is a democratic committee This committee did not act like the Congressconstituted committee It followed proper procedure and consultations Shah said reported PTIWith inputs from PTI