Waqf JPC Tenure Extension Amid Wider Consultation with States

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Waqf Board JPC to Seek Extension for Final Report

By Raisina Correspondent

New Delhi, November 27: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is likely to extend the term of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Waqf Board Amendment Bill until the completion of the Budget session of parliament. The Waqf JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal on Tuesday said that consultations with at least six states are still pending.

The Waqf JPC was initially mandated to submit report in the ongoing Winter session of parliament. The meetings of the Waqf JPC had been acrimonious so far. The Opposition MPs have staged walk outs amid claims of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members dominating the proceedings pf the Waqf JPC.

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“The Waqf committee will request Lok Sabha Speaker to extend the time for submission of its report to the House up to the last day of the Budget Session of 2025,” Pal told reporters on Tuesday. Sarangi is a member of the Waqf JPC. She is also an MP from the BJP.

Pal told reporters that the Waqf JPC unanimously decided to seek an extension of the term of the committee. The BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey, Sarangi and Dilip Saikia, told the chairman that there is unfinished agenda of holding consultations with stakeholders before a final report is prepared. “We still have to invite and listen to other stakeholders and state officials from six states,” Pal told reporters.

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The Waqf JPC chairman also told reporters that the states which are party to litigation in disputes with Waqf need to be heard by the parliamentary committee. He said that there 123 properties under dispute between Government of India, Urban Ministry and Waqf Board.

While the Waqf JPC held its deliberations, Muslim bodies have taken out outreach among the community members to write letters to the committee against changes in the Board. On the other hand, the Hindu groups have been arguing that there are no boards on the lines of Waqf Board to manage the properties of the Hindu religious institutions.

The Waqf Board Amendment Bill is acquiring political overtones. The government while piloting the bill in the Lok Sabha had argued that the changes in the law are demands of time. Cases have been cited where the cultivated land of Muslim villagers have been claimed as properties of the Waqf Board.

The BJP members in parliament have argued that Muslims constitute a major section of litigants against the Waqf Board as it acquires their properties arbitrarily. The government is aiming to make key changes in the constitution of the Board as well as manner of its functioning.

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