How can collector be final arbitrator of Waqf properties, Opposition asks in meeting

Heated debate over Waqf Bill, Opposition walks out, concerns raised over collector as final arbitrator.

At a stormy eight-hour-long second sitting of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, there was a heated exchange between the Opposition and the government members, especially on the clause allowing the District Collector to be the final arbitrator on Waqf properties. 

The Opposition briefly walked out in protest after panel chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal refused to allow one of the witnesses to depose. The meeting began at 11 a.m. and went on till 7 p.m. The argument arose in the second half of the deliberations when advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, who had deposed on behalf of Indian Muslims of Civil Rights (IMCR), New Delhi, returned to speak for Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board.

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Mr. Pal, according to sources, said the panel has already heard Mr. Ayubbi’s views, while the Opposition said, that the second time around he will specifically be speaking on Uttar Pradesh. After Mr. Pal refused to relent, the Opposition walked out. Though, within a few minutes after registering their protest, they returned. 

The Opposition expressed reservations on Section 3 of the law that makes the collector the “final arbitrator” of the Waqf properties. Several Opposition leaders argued that the collector cannot be the judge in the government’s own case. The collector has no quasi-judicial authority. The collector is a revenue officer and does not have expertise to survey properties which the Act requires. Samajwadi Party MP Muhibullah, as per sources, contended that Waqf is part of the Islamic identity and should be treated as an intra-community affair. A collector, he argued, cannot be given a “supervisory role”. 

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi, said sources, flagged the consequences that the law will have on Uttar Pradesh. He argued that the Waqf properties in the State are governed by a State legislation.

“A majority of these properties were in the nature of ‘waqf by user’ and an overwhelming majority of these properties were religious in nature. The deletion of ‘waqf by user’ from the amended law will mean that the title of these properties numbering over one lakh will be destabilised and made vulnerable to encroachment,” he said during the meeting. Others Opposition leaders supported Mr. Owaisi’s arguments.