Renamed as "Unified Waqf Management Empowerment Efficiency and Development" bill

- Private bill in 1952

The Muslim Wakf’s Bill 1952 was one of the Private bills that became law
introduced by Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, MP from Sultanpur constituency.

Omission of "Mussalman" from Waqf Act Title

The institution of Waqf initially received statutory recognition during the British era with the enactment of the Mussalman Wakf Validating Act in 1913, followed by the Mussalman Wakf Act in 1923.
However, just after Independence, the first systematic assault on Waqf occurred when the word "Mussalman" was removed making the title as the Wakf Bill, 1952, as well as from the previous Acts of 1913 and 1923.
A new legislation was introduced as the Waqf Act, 1955.

December 2023

Waqf Repeal bill, 2022

The introduction of the Waqf Repeal Bill, 2022 was approved after 53 members voted in favour and 32 against.
During the private member's legislative business, BJP member Harnath Singh Yadav moved the Bill for introduction which was opposed by the members from several parties including the Congress, TMC, DMK, CPI, CPI (M), and RJD.
Moving the bill, the BJP MP termed the legislation in the interest of country while the opposition members objected to the bill alleging that it will create division in the society.

Provisions of the bill

S.No	1995	2025	Provision in the new act	Benefit
1.	Section 40 - Empowers the waqf board to inquire and determine if a property is waqf	provision removed - Schedule 5 and 6 lands belonging to tribals can't be waqf.	-	- preventing misuse and illegal occupation of waqf lands to boost revenue for waqf boards
2.	survey of waqf conducted by survey commissioner and additional commissioners	Survey of waqf properties Empowers collectors to do the survey and Pending surveys will be conducted as per the state revenue laws
3.	no clear provisions on government property as waqf	Government property no longer Waqf - Any government property identified as waqf will cease to be waqf - ownership disputes will be resolved by the collector and a report will be submitted to the state government - Prevention of ASI protected monuments can't be waqf
4.	Waqf could be formed by declaration, user or endowment (waqf-alal-aulad)	Endowment or declaration not by user 1. Waqf can be formed only through declaration, or endowment, not by user 2. donor must be a practicing muslim for at least 5 years and own the property (restoring pre 2013 provision) 3. Waqf - alal - aulad cannot deny inheritance rights to women heirs		- waqf-alal-aulad income to support widows, divorced women and orphans - guarantee female heirs their rightful share in family waqf
5.	Constitutes central waqf council to advise the central and state governments and waqf boards - All council members must be muslims, with at least 2 women members - provides for elections of up to 2 members each from electoral colleges of muslims: MPs and MLAs and MLCs and Bar council members from the state	Members of the council 1. provides that 2 members must be non muslims 2. MPs, former judges and eminent persons appointed to the council as per the act need not be muslims 3. representatives of muslim organisations, scholars in islamic law, chairpersons of waqf boards must be muslims 4. of the muslim members, 2 must be women. 5. empowers state government to nominate 1 person from each background to the board (need not be muslims) 6. board must have 2 non muslim members, at least - 1 member each from shias, sunnis and backward classes of muslims and - 1 member each from Bohra and Agakhani communities (if they have waqf in the state)
6.	Required states to constitute tribunals to address disputes over waqf Chairman of tribunals must be a judge of the rank equivalent to a Class I, District, Sessions or Civil judge Other members include: - A state officer equal to an ADM - person knowledgeable in muslim law and jurisprudence	Tribunal to address the disputes Removes the latter from the tribunal and instead provides the following as members: - a current or former district court judge as its chairman - a current of former officer of the rank of joint secretary to the state government
7.	- Decisions of the tribunal are final and appeals against its decisions in courts are prohibited - the high court can consider matters on its own accords on an application by the board or an aggrieved party	- omits the provisions deeming finality to tribunals decisions - tribunals orders may be appealed in the high court within 90 days
8.	Separate waqf boards for sunni and shia sects if shia waqf constitutes more than 15% of all waqf properties or waqf income in the state	- Separate waqf boards allowed for bohra and agakhani sects along with shia and sunni sects		representation of minorities among muslims
9.	State governments may get the accounts of waqfs audited at any point	- empowers the central government to make rules regarding registration, publication of accounts of waqf and publications of proceedings of waqf boards - empowers the central governments to get these audited by CAG or a designated officer - waqf institutions earning over ₹1 lakh annually, to undergo audits by state government appointed auditors.		- regular audits and inspections to promote financial discipline and strengthen public confidence in waqf management
		Digitizing the data of waqf boards - mutawallis to register property details on the central portal within 6 months to enhance accountability		centralised digital portal to track waqf properties, ensuring better identification, monitoring and management
10.		application of the Limitation act, 1963		this reduces the prolonged litigation
11.		Separation of trusts from Waqf		Muslims created trusts under any law will no longer be considered waqf, ensuring full control over trusts
12.		Waqf institutions mandatory contributions to Waqf boards is reduced from 7% to 5%		This allows more funds to charity

Claims

Before 2014 elections

"Before the Model Code of Conduct for the 2014 elections came into effect, UPA govt DENOTIFIED 123 properties & handed them over to Delhi Waqf Board."

"These properties belonged to Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs." - Kiren Rijju

April 2024

Hotel Marriot in Hyderabad

Wakf Board claimed Hotel Marriot in Hyderabad (process started in 2014)
Now, Telangana High Court has issued Writ stopping Waqf Tribunal from passing any adverse order.
Wakf Act, 1954 allows such blatant misuse of law to claim properties! Twitter

September 2024

Waqf Board has claims over 6 hindu temples in Delhi

Attempt to capture Hindu temples by Waqf Board exposed in disclosure of Minority Commission report
X

Claims DTC bus stand, DDA office and a garbage dump

After temples in Delhi, now Waqf Board claims DTC bus stand, DDA office and 4 lane road, Waqf also claims MCD garbage dump as its own… Senior lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay said - time has come to change the Waqf law soon
X

UP govt takes illegally occupied waqf land in Kaushambi

Yogi Govt takes over 96 Bigha land illegally occupied by waqf board in Kaushambi area.
After detailed investigation it was found illegally captured and registered back in UP govt records.
This sets an example for other Indian states to seize illegally captured properties by Wakf board

Claims 156 year old Surat municipal corporation office

Waqf claimed the 156-year-old Surat Municipal Corporation office & the government has to fight the case in court for ten years using public tax money
Yesterday in the JPC meeting on Wakf Bill, Gujarat Minister Sangha Viharsh gave a wonderful presentation & also countered Owaisi in style
X Current Updates - Video

Claims 2 fishermen villages in Kerala

Churches and Christian families in Kerala's Ernakulam district wrote a letter to the parliamentary committee against the Waqf Board
X

October 2024

Claims 300 acres land on the outskirt of Hyderabad

The Waqf Board has claimed ownership of 300 acres of land on the outskirts of Hyderabad, prompting residents to vacate the area.

November 2024

Claims Gutte Anjaneyaswamy temple in Chikkaballapur

Now Waqf claims ancient Gutte Anjaneyaswamy Temple in Chikkaballapur, a site of great historical importance.
This Hanuman temple existed long before the arrival of the Mughals in India and predates the establishment of Waqf itself.

Claims Indian Army cantonment in Kannur

Notice issued to Indian army Kannur cantonment authorities in Kerala stating that the ground occupied by them belongs to waqf board.

Claims Siddhi Vinayak Temple in Mumbai

Waqf board now claims Siddhi Vinayak temple of Mumbai

Claims Bidar fort in Karnataka

Now, Karnataka Waqf Board CLAIMS ownership of Bidar Fort & two villages.
X

Claims Varanasi college

Waqf Board has now staked claim on famous 100 acre Varanasi college with 17000 students..

Claims Uday Pratap college in UP

Claim on 115 year old Uday Pratap College.. CM Yogi has recently announced to uplift it as a University. Now Waqf is Claiming it. X

January 2025

Claims Maha Kumbh land

Mahakumbh was mentioned in Rigved (8000+years ). In case you don't believe in Rigved, Kumbh Mela was documented by Chinese traveler Xuanzang in 6th century..
Islam was born in 7th century..
Waqf board was established in 20th century..
Today Waqf board is claiming that land on which Mahakumbh is being organised belongs to them. DGP

March 2025

Eden Gardens is a waqf property

AIMIM leader Imran Solanki has claimed that Eden Gardens, which is one of the largest cricket stadiums, is a Waqf property.
He further claimed that Fort William, which is the headquarters of Indian Army's Eastern Command, is also a Waqf property.
"Waqf has 105 properties in Kolkata's Park Street," Imran added.

Public funds diverted to Waqf

December 2023

100 crores to Delhi Waqf board in last 5 years

RTI reply reveals in a viral video that the Delhi AAP government gave Rs 100 crores to the Delhi Waqf board in last five years Twitter

June 2024

Maharashtra - 10 crore

Maharashtra : The BJP Govt has decided to allocate Rs 10 crore for the Waqf board.
Earlier, the BJP government had approved Rs 2 crore for Waqf Board on June 10, 2024
VHP has warned the BJP govt that it may face backlash from the people during elections if the decision is not reversed.

Reason by BJP state president, Maharashtra

The process was necessitated to fix the wrongs. It would help to identity the land which has been wrongly acquired from Hindus and tribals and backward classes.”
Maharashtra BJP President, Chandrashekhar Bawankule

Karnataka - 500 crore

Karnataka- 500 Cr worth of Hindus donated land given away to Muslims in the heart of Bangalore city.
“The funds allocated by the state government was for digitisation of the Waqf Board.

December 2024

Farmers vs Waqf in Karnataka for over 15,000 acres

Sensational farmers versus Waqf fight breaks out over 15,000 acres usurped overnight?
Farmers claim huge pressure from Congress govt
Congress minister goes on record saying, "Attach all land to Waqf!"

Waqf bill timeline

August 8, 2024 - introduced

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8 by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijju.

January 28, 2025 - approved by JPC

Waqf Amendment Bill Approved by JPC with 14 Key Modifications to Original Draft .

February 2025

WAQF Act Joint Parliamentary Committee Report laid on the table of Loksabha.

March 2025

Waqf bill violence started in Maharashtra in the Mahal area of Nagpur. 2 groups clash violently during demonstration of Hindu organisation Bajrang Dal and VHP calling for deplatforming of Aurangzeb.
Modi ji was supposed to visit Nagpur to RSS headquarters next week. DGP

April 2025

The five BJP MP’s ABSENT from voting on the Waqf Amendment Bill yesterday:

PM Modi (supposed to travel to Thailand)
Manohar Lal Khattar
Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Kangana Ranaut
Hema Malini

May 2025

Supreme court starts the hearing of the act

For the bill

2010 - Lalu Prasad Yadav

"The Waqf Board has usurped the land of both the government and the common people. STRICT laws are needed to curb this." - Lalu Prasad Yadav in Parliament on 07/05/2010. Video

August, 2024

Sufi Islamic Board welcomes the bill

Sufi Islamic Board demands that the Waqf Board should be moved from Minority Affairs to the Home Ministry.
Sufi Islamic Board said the Waqf Board has been misused in the last 70 years
"The Bill states that it would come under Collector. There is no issue, things will be better than before"

Temples under administrative control, why no waqf?

ShivSena MP Shrikant Shinde slams opposition

"When Congress was in power, they placed all temples under administrative control. Today, they’re advocating for no control over the Waqf Board? Do you want only Hindus to obey law & different laws for Muslims?"

Public approval

The Modi government has garnered public approval for the Waqf amendment bill, according to a recent survey. The findings indicate that:

90% of Indians are in favor of amending the Waqf Act.
96% believe that Waqf boards should register properties with district collectors.
93% oppose the establishment of Waqf tribunals.
The survey included a sample size of 47,000 respondents, comprising 74% Hindus, 16% Muslims, and 10% from other communities.
Muslim Women in Delhi come out in SUPPORT of Waqf Amendment Bill to be introduced in Lok Sabha today. Video X

April 2025

All India Muslim Women Personal Law board extends supports

All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) extends SUPPORT to the Waqf Amendment Bill. Current updates - Video

Against the bill

August 2024

No muslims in Char Dham committee - SP leader

Samajwadi Party leader Mohibbullah Nadvi says "There no Muslims in the Char Dham committee. There are only Sikhs in the Gurudwara, then why is such injustice happening to only Muslims?"
"I will decide what is written in my religion, not you," He said on the Waqf amendment bill
Note: Waqf is not a religious ritual body, hence comparing this with Gurudwara or Char Dham Committee is inappropriate

No Hindu Donation Board or Sikh Donation Board

Also there is no such Hindu Donation Board, Sikh Donation Board like Waqf Board.

September 2024

Owaisi

"If this (Waqf) law is approved… out of one lakh and twenty-one thousand Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh, one lakh and twelve thousand don't have documents. If Waqf by user is removed, who will take the land? If you don't have legal right to the land, anyone can claim the land…," said AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi during an event in Hyderabad. (Via PTI)

October 2024

Kerala assembly against Waqf bill

Kerala Assembly passes resolution against Waqf Bill, calls it 'unconstitutional'

April 2025

Omar Abdullah criticizes

'Ek Hi MazHub Ko Nishana Banaya Jaa Raha Hai' - J&K CM Omar Abdullah criticizes Waqf Amendment Bill, claims “it targets one religion”

BJP government against the Waqf properties

August 2024

Maharashtra govt building international football stadium in Aamkhas maidan

Maharashtra government to build International football stadium at 'Aamkhas maidan' which was occupied by Waqf Board in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

October 2024

NCPCR - Discontinue Madrasas boardss

NCPCR Chief: We are working to discontinue Madrasas Boards and STOP all Govt grants and funding as it is Haram and their religion prohibits that kind of money!
X

April 2025

Illegal Waqf board properties will be Confiscated

Sunni Board: 1,24,000 illegal properties
Shia Board: 7,785 illegal properties
Instructions issued to all DMs.

JPC committee events

A️ugust 2024

Jagambika Pal - chairperson

BJP's Jagdambika Pal appointed chairperson of joint panel on Waqf bill

31 members

The official notification said Speaker Om Birla named Pal the head of the 31-member committee.

September 2024

ASI lends support to Waqf bill at JPC meet

Lending support to the Waqf Amendment Bill, ASI cited its ongoing tussle with Waqf Boards around India over 120 historical monuments, as per reports.
Reportedly, the discussions during the JPC meeting took a heated turn with the officials of the culture ministry, which supervises ASI, hinting that the Waqf Boards held arbitrary powers, while opposition members defended Waqf Boards.

February 2025

Cabinet approves Waqf bill based on JPC report

Union Cabinet approves Waqf bill based on parliamentary panel report
The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was tabled in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on February 13, 2025
In January, the parliamentary committee adopted all amendments to the Waqf bill proposed by members of the ruling BJP-led NDA and rejected every change suggested by Opposition members in a clause-by-clause discussion.
Of the 44 amendments moved, changes to 14 clauses were suggested by the NDA members, all of which were accepted by the panel after a vote.
All amendments request of Opposition REJECTED.
Opposition amendments' received only 10 votes, 16 members opposed their amendments

Approved amendments:

To increase the number of non-Muslim members of the panel. Now, two of the panel members can be non-Muslims. The clause 11 of the bill says that any ex officio member (Muslim or not) will be excluded from the count of non-Muslim panel members.
Clause 14, moved by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and amongst the amendments accepted, says that a person can only give his property to the Waqf if he is practising Islam for five years and there is no fraud involved related to the property.
The Waqf tribunal will now have three members instead of two and the third will be an Islamic scholar. Earlier, there was a provision for two members in the tribunal in the amendment bill.
Any official appointed by the state government can oversee and monitor a Waqf property. Earlier, such a power was with a collector authorised to conduct a property's survey.
The opposition's amendments, spanning all 44 clauses of the Bill, were defeated by the same 10(opposition):16(ruling) majority. India Today India Today

RS accepts JPC report

Waqf Board JPC Report accepted in Rajya Sabha

Judicial intervention

September 2024

Court Dismisses Waqf Claim On Karbala Maidan Land In Indore

The district court has declared that 6.7 acres of the Karbala Maidan grounds in Indore city is not a Waqf property but belongs to the municipal corporation.
The civic body has won a "historic legal battle" that has been going on since 1979.
The Waqf Board submitted that the erstwhile Holkar rulers had earmarked the land for immersion of Tazias during Muharram, and a mosque also stands there.

May 2025

By Kapil Sibal:

Section 3C - free rein to any encroacher to start a dispute. The inquiry will be conducted by a designated officer. There is no timeline or procedure prescribed for the inquiry in the act. A dispute over even a fragment of the land would freeze the waqf status of the entire property. No restriction on demolition. The government can unilaterally deem a property as non - waqf. Subordination of muslim members in waqf administrative bodies by including non muslims in them. No other religious endowments, hindu or sikh, allowed room for people of other faiths to run their temples or gurudwaras.

Waqf property, once declared a protected monument or area under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 or Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, would become void as a waqf under Section 3D of the act.

By A.M.Singhvi:

Waqfs would have a ripple effect on protection given to them under the Places of Worship act, 1991. Country's eight lakh waqfs are unregistered waqfs by user, effectively invalidated by the act. This also barred them from approaching the court. Many age old waqfs have no documents or deeds.

Protests

Congress supports AIMPLB

Cong will SUPPORT AIMPLB's nationwide protest against WAQF Amendment Bill today.
AIMPLB backs Shariat rule, Polygamy, Hijab, discourages women entry to Mosques.

House burnt for supporting the act

Manipur BJP leader Ali's home burnt for backing Waqf Act, he later withdraws support
Ali had voiced his support on social media, following which around 7,000-8,000 people attacked his house and set it on fire.
[!] He later apologised and withdrew his support for the Act.