Waqf Bill 2025

Last Updated on April 4, 2025 by Shianjany Pradhan

On 2 April 2025, the Waqf(amendment) bill, 2024, was tabled by the parliamentary affairs minister, Kiren Rijiju. With this, 8 new changes were proposed to the bill of 1995. The Mussalman Wakf(repeal)bill was also introduced for consideration.

This bill, originally placed in the parliament last year, was reviewed by the joint parliamentary committee led by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal. 

The changes have been introduced so that administration can be streamlined, enabling its efficiency. The government claims that the same is done to address the loopholes in the Act of 1995.

Key changes from the act of 1995 to the act of 2025

• ‘Waqf by User’, means land by use of waqf. This phrase has been removed from the act, meaning that land cannot be considered Waqf property just because it has been used in such form over time. Only those lands will be allowed under waqf, which are declared as such or through the way of the endowment.
• The donors who make donations of land to the waqf must have been practicing Muslims for the last 5 years preceding such contributions.
• It has also been added that women’s right to inheritance will not be denied.
• Under the Act of 1995, there was no discussion around the issue of whether land that the government owns would be declared as waqf. This has been changed in the bill and provides that if the government-owned land has been declared as waqf incorrectly, then the same will not be a waqf property. If a dispute arises, the decision authority will be with the district collector, not the board.
• The waqf board cannot determine the status of waqf. In the new bill, the responsibility is vested in the state officials.
• In the act of 1995, the surveys were done by the survey commissioner and the Additional commissioners. In the new bill, such surveys will be overviewed by the district collector and must be aligned with state revenue laws. The government is of the view that it will bring uniformity to the land records.
• A change in the composition of the central waqf council has been made. As per the act of 1995, the council members were supposed to be Muslim only, along with two women. The new act says that non-muslims, such as MPs, former judges, and eminent persons, can also be members. However, it has also been said that when it comes to representation, the representatives of the Muslim organization, Islamic scholars, the board chairperson, and two Muslim women have to be included.
• The state waqf boards have also met the changes. In the act of 1995, the Muslim, MPS, MLAS, or Bar council members were part of the board. In the current bill, the members will be appointed by the state. They would include two non-muslim members, two non-muslim women, and representatives from all the communities of Shia Sunni, backward class Muslims, Bohra, and Agakhani communities. This also must include two Muslim women,
• The waqf tribunal structure has been remodified. As per the new act, the tribunal will have the district court judge as the chairman and a joint secretary of the state government, unlike the 1995 act, where the additional district magistrate and Muslim law expert are led by the judge.
• The intervention of the HC under the old act was to be done only under exceptional circumstances. This has been changed in the new act as against the tribunal’s decision; a challenge can be filed in 90 days.
• In the previous act, the states could audit waqf boards at any time. In the new act, the central government can make the rules of waqf registration, accounts, and audits that the CAG or any other authorized officer would do.
• The bill has also brought in new provisions for sect-based waqf boards. Separate waqf boards were allowed for the Shia and the Sunni communities if the Shia assets exceeded 15 percent of the total waqf assets. Now, it has also been allowed for the Bohra and Agakhani communities.