THE WAKF ACT AND AMENDMENTS 1954/1984/1995/2013: IN BRIEF

THE WAKF ACT & AMENDMENTS 1954/1984/1995/2013: IN BRIEF

By

Lt Gen PG Kamath (Veteran)

Wakf Board was formed to look after the property of properties donated by Muslims to God.  It is the most sacred function and the Act is essential to take care of these divine properties.

In 1954, the Congress Government headed by Nehru enacted the Act. The power of the Wakf was progressively enhanced by subsequent amendments in 1984 by Governments headed by Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao Government in 1995, and Manmohan Government in 2013. Just before the demise of the Manmohan Government in 2014 it further handed over 123 prime properties in Delhi to the Delhi Waqf Board.  Of these 61 were with the Land & Development Office and 62 with Delhi Development Board.  These were handed over on secret note a day before the Moral Code of Conduct became effective for the 2014 parliamentary elections.  Wakf is the biggest landholder in the country next only to Defence and Railways.  The value of the properties of Wakf as per Sachar Panel Report in 2006 was ₹ 1.2 lakhs crores. With the escalation in the value of real estate, it would have been appreciated several times more.

The present draconian powers exercised by the Wakf Board are as follows: -

Wakf Board can claim any property in the country that includes any or all your personal properties.   They are not liable to pay any compensation to the acquired properties.

It only needs to lay its claims on any property and need NOT provide proof.  It just has to think that the property should be owned by the board.   This right is unilateral. Legally, the Wakf can claim the Rashtrapati Bhavan as Wakf Property. The board may be magnanimous by not asking the President to vacate but can impose a rent on the Government of India.  This is the legal position and please do not misinterpret my sentence.

If the claim is contested by the current owner of the property, its adjudication will be done by the Wakf Board.  It is the Judge, Jury, and the Accused.  Its decision is final till modified or revoked by a Wakf Board Tribunal formed by the state government.

The award of the Tribunal is final and it cannot be contested in any civil courts. State governments can form as many tribunals as they want.

The tribunal can impose a fine on the contesting party and order eviction.

If any Govt officials fail to act on the orders given by the Wakf Tribunal it can impose a monetary fine on them.

You may never know even if your house is claimed by the Wakf board.  All that they do is claim a property and instruct the Revenue Authorities to transfer the land to the Wakf Board.   The Wakf Board is not liable to inform you that they have claimed your property.

Thiruchenthurai is a village located on the banks of River Cauvery in Tiruchirappalli district in Tamil Nadu with a 1500-year-old Sundareswarar Temple that has become a Wakf Property in Sep 2022.  The temple existed much before the founding of Islam.  The Wakf Board has also claimed another 18 villages of Trichy.

In the current year, the Karnataka Government has allotted ₹ 32 crores to build boundary walls for the protection of the Wakf Properties.  Similar concerns have not been shown to protect the properties of places of worship of other religions.

In contrast, the ‘Religious Endowment Act’ has been imposed on Temple and Mutts.  All offerings are controlled by the Government granting some marginal funds for payment of priests and daily maintenance and upkeep. Even the pay of officials and Chartered Accountant Charges are paid from the Temple earnings.  The attempt by the Karnataka Government to further take 5-10 percent of temple earnings as tax and plow it into the Common Pool of Funds was stalled by the Governor of Karnataka.

The Wakf Properties itself needs protection as they have been misused by the Board members and they have little accountability.  No government wants to scrutinize them as it will mar their secular credentials.

Summary

The Wakf fulfills a divine function as it takes care of the property donated by a Muslim to God.  Similar bodies are to be formed by an act of law to take care of properties belonging to Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus.  

The powers that have been given to the Wakf Board are unprecedented.  It is draconian.

Amendments to these powers are essential as they are being misused by Wakf Boards.

Any further additions to Wakf properties unless it has been donated by a Muslim from his private property should cease with immediate effect.

An honest survey of the Wakf Land should be undertaken to ensure the legitimate properties of the Wakf are not encroached upon.

The High Courts & Supreme Courts should have complete jurisdiction over the Wakf Tribunal. An aggrieved person should have the right to appeal against the orders of the Wakf Tribunal.

There would be strong protests by Muslim leaders who want to project it as the victimization of the minority community.  All such misperceptions and misrepresentations must be curbed by clear-cut information campaigns to educate truthfully all sections of society.

Let there be no doubt that our Muslims are a part and parcel of the Indian Society and we value their contribution to the nation.  We all must make all efforts so that fundamentalist teachings do not sway them away from the national mainstream.  At the same time, the rights of minorities should not be at the expense of the rights of majorities. All citizens of the country should be treated as equals.