INTRODUCTION
• Islamic law defines a waqf, also spelled as hubous or mortmain property, as an inalienable endowment for charitable purposes,
• It usually entails giving a structure, a piece of land, or other property for charitable or religious purposes to Muslims without having any plans to take the property back. The donated assets may be kept in a charitable trust.
• The person making such a commitment is referred to as a waqif (a donor).
• According to the Waqf Act, 1954, waqf means “the permanent dedication by a person professing Islam, of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognized by the Muslim Law as religious, pious, or charitable.” The term stands for the retention of a specific thing in the ownership of Waqf and the devoting of its profit or products in the charity of the poor or other good objects.
OBJECTIVES
Generally, the waqf must fulfill three primary objectives:
• The person who established the waqf and any succeeding keepers shall safeguard the principal and donate the income to charity.
• The beneficiary group must be identified, and the endowment’s only purpose must be philanthropic.
• The endowment should be lawfully withdrawn from commodification so that it is no longer on the market.
ORIGIN
• The Waqf Board is a statutory body that was established in 1954 for the proper maintenance and use of Islamic buildings, institutions, and lands in India.
• The Waqf Act of 1954 passed by the Nehru government provided a pathway toward the centralization of Waqf.
• Central Waqf Council of India, a statutory body was established in 1964 by the Government of India under this Waqf Act of 1954. This central body oversees the work under various state Waqf boards which were established under provisions of Section 9(1) of the Waqf Act, 1954
• The body is headed by a chairperson, with maximum of 20 other people as members. These members are appointed by the government at the Centre.
• At present, the chairperson of the Central Waqf Council is Smriti Zubin Irani, the Minister of Minority Affairs.
ISLAMIC ORIGIN
• Although there is no direct Quranic injunction regarding the Waqf, their conception in Islamic society has been derived from several hadiths. It is said that during the time of Muhammad, after the Hijrah, the first waqf was composed of a grove of 600 date palms. The proceeds of this waqf were meant to feed Medina’s poor.
• In one tradition, it said that: “Ibn Umar reported, Umar Ibn Al-Khattab got land in Khaybar, so he came to Muhammad and asked him to advise him about it. Muhammad said, ‘If you like, make the property inalienable and give the profit from it to charity.’
THE WAQF ACT, 1995
The Waqf Act, 1995 was enacted and implemented on November 22, 1995. This act provides for the power and functions of the Waqf Council, the State Waqf Boards, and the Chief Executive Officer, and the duties of mutawalli (The waqf is managed by a mutawali, who acts as a supervisor.)
The main objectives are:
• To provide better administration and management of waqf, waqf properties, and anything in relation to waqf.
• To establish and facilitate smooth functioning of Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards, which will also keep Central Government and State Governments informed regarding the administration of waqf.
• Appointment of the executive officer to those Waqf whose performance is unsatisfactory and annual income is 5 lakh rupees or more.
• To regulate judicial proceedings that arise relating to waqf.
• To supervise the powers, functions, and duties of mutawallis.
• To conduct surveys by appointing a Survey Commissioner and as many Additional or Assistant Survey Commissioners required by the State under Chapter II Section 4 of the Waqf Act, 1995.
• To strengthen the finances for the management Waqf. The contribution of a mutawalli to the board has been raised to 7% from 6%.
• To prepare Waqf maintenance budget for the coming financial year under the direct management of the board.
• To maintain records and to conduct an inspection of the records.
• To bring about uniformity in waqf administration throughout the country.
PRESENT STATUS
• Presently there are thirty Waqf Boards across the country in twenty-eight states and Union territories. States such as Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim and the Union Territory Daman and Diu have Waqf Board at present. The Waqf Act 1995 is not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.
• Justice Shashvat Kumar, who headed the Shashvat Committee has prepared a status report on Muslims in India in 2011 and the finding of this report was that Nationwide, Waqf properties constitute a land bank worth Rs. 1.2 lakh crore and could have generated annual returns of Rs. 12,000 crores but yielded only Rs. 163 crores.
• The committee found that there was “a severe shortage of senior government officers who are Muslim to manage Waqf affairs. A separate cadre would mean officers who are not only permanent but also qualified enough”.
• The Haryana Waqf Board (HWB) registered an all-time high income of Rs 17.03 crore during 2010–11, which is Rs 3.33 crore higher than the previous year. During 2010– 11, the Board spent Rs 3.32 crore on various educational and welfare activities. The Board had earmarked Rs 6.47 crore in the budget for 2011–12 to meet the main objectives of Waqf and various educational and welfare activities, he said.
• The central, as well as state Waqf Boards, have been involved in corruption, land encroachment, and misappropriation of funds. The Karnat Waqf Board Land Scam is one such case.
• According to one estimate, there is nearly 18 lakh acres land lying as waqf property, but there are no authentic data to substantiate this.
• Presently, Waqf Boards are the third largest owner of properties in India, after Army and Railways. In most of the states, board members appoint their own men as caretakers (mutawallis) to occupy such properties, and in reverse, even government owned or private land is also shown as waqf property and occupied by vested interests.
• In Uttar Pradesh, there are 162,229 waqf properties, including 150,000 registered with the Sunni Central Waqf Board and 12,229 with the Shia Central Waqf Board.All the property of Muslim donation is comes under the category of waqf or not? The answer is no because for any property considering as Waqf by certain agreements like waqfnama and also mention the reason of why he/she is doing Waqf of his/her property and finally it include as waqf property.
• According to the Waqf board survey on 30th September 2022,In India 32 Waqf board is having 354,628 Waqf assets, 858,238 immovable property and 16,628 movable property.
• The actual number of Waqf properties can be much higher as many properties in the country are now listed in the list and at the same time, Waqf properties are being occupied.
• According to Waqf board entry of 30th September 2022, Out of 858,238 immovable property are occupied by illegally and near about 435,417 Waqf property is missing