WAQF BOARD PROPERTIES (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: Madhya Pradesh High Court in a recent ruling held that the three ancient monuments located in Burhanpur, including the tomb of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s daughter-in-law, Begum Bilqis were not part of Wakf board property.

Waqf Board Properties

• About: It is the property given in the name of God for religious and charitable purposes. 
• In legal terms: Permanent dedication by a person professing Islam, of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognised by the Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable.
• Formation: A waqf can be created through a deed or instrument, or by long-term use of a property for religious or charitable purposes.
• Irrevocability: Once created, a waqf cannot be revoked and continues as a legal entity.
• Non-Muslim Participation: A non-Muslim can create a waqf if they profess Islam and the waqf's objective is Islamic.
• Waqf Governed: Waqfs in India are governed by the Waqf Act, 1995.

o Management: A mutawali manages the waqf, similar to a trustee under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.

o Differences from Trusts: Unlike trusts, waqfs are strictly for religious and charitable purposes and cannot be dissolved.

o Central Waqf Council: It is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs that was set up in 1964 as per the provision given in the Waqf Act, 1954 as Advisory Body to the Central Government on matters concerning the working of the Waqf Boards and the due administration of Auqaf.

• Waqf Board: It is a juristic person with the authority to acquire, hold, and transfer property.

o Composition: Each state's Waqf Board includes a chairperson, state government nominees, Muslim legislators and parliamentarians, Muslim members of the state Bar Council, recognized Islamic scholars, and mutawalis of high-income waqfs.

o Powers: The Waqf Board can manage waqf properties, recover lost properties, and sanction the transfer of immovable waqf property. Such transactions require the approval of at least two-thirds of the Board members.