WAKFS

Minister of Welfare's Statement in Parliament

On Misuse or Illegal Sale of Wakf Properties, 9 September, 1996

The Parliament has enacted the Wakf Act, 1995 for better administration of Wakfs to curb such illegal activities. The Wakf Act, 1995 empowers the State Governments under Section 13 of the Act to set up Wakf Boards to ensure proper maintenance of Wakfs under their control and administration of Wakf income for the purposes for which such Wakfs were created/intended, The role of the Central Government is confined under Section 96 of the Act to regulating the secular activities of the Wakfs.

The purpose of bringing new Wakf Law is to provide for better administration of Wakfs and to plug loopholes in the earlier Wakf Laws to ensure that Wakf properties are not alienated by way of sale or transfer. The new law contains the following specific provisions-

      i.         Ban on alienation of Wakf properties under Section 51 of the Act by virtue of which a gift, sale or exchange or mortgage of an immovable Wakf property is void, if it is made without prior sanction of the Wakf Board. If any property is gifted, sold or exchanged in violation of the provision, the Board can request the District Collector to recover the property and deliver it to the Board.

     ii.         The Chief Executive Officer of the Board has for the first time been given powers under Section 54 of the Act to remove encroachments from Wakf properties and get this order enforced with the help of concerned Sub-Divisional Magistrate.

   iii.         Under Section 40 of the Act, the Board has been given the powers to collect information about the property which the Board considers to be Wakf and declare it as such after proper enquiry.

   iv.         Under Section 61 of the Act, penalties of fine and imprisonment up to 6 months have been prescribed for erring Mutawallis, Section 64 empowers the Board to remove Mutawallis for their acts of omission and commission.

However, the above provisions would be effective after the State Governments constitute the Wakf Boards under provisions of the Wakf Act, 1995. Central Government has been persuading State Governments to implement the provisions of the Act by constituting Wakf Boards and Wakf Tribunals. Reports received indicate that State Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya have already constituted the Wakf Boards while Governments of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are taking action to implement the provisions of the Act. Other State Governments including that of W.Bengal are in the process of implementing the provisions of the Act.

As for the cases of illegal sale and transfer of Wakf

 Properties a few cases in Assam, two cases in Delhi, 71 cases in Maharashtra, 43 cases in Orissa and one case in Kerala have been reported. Complaints have also been received about some instances of illegal sale and transfer of Wakf properties in West Bengal by erstwhile West Bengal Wakf Board. The Government of West Bengal have confirmed having received similar complaints and have instituted a departmental enquiry to look into it. A copy of the abovesaid enquiry report has not yet been furnished to the Central Government.

The concerned State Governments have taken appropriate measures for recovery of alienated Wakf properties. In Delhi, two complaints of illegal sale of Wakf properties are being enquired into by the administration. In Maharashtra, departmental action has been taken against 10 Mutawallis. In Kerala, prosecution has been started against the Mutawalli concerned, and in Orissa, out of 43 such cases Civil suits have been decided in 29 cases and 14 cases are still pending in Courts. Besides, there have been some cases of sale of Wakf properties by the Rehabilitation Department in Punjab and Haryana, which have been taken up by the Punjab Wakf Board with respective State Governments.

It would, therefore, be appreciated that the Central Government has been requesting the State Governments to take effective steps to ensure that provisions of the new Wakf Act are implemented. Once the State Governments cases of irregularities in sale/gift/mortgage of Wakf constitute the Wakf Boards and establish Wakf Tribunals, properties would receive urgent attention and it would be possible to take corrective action under the relevant provisions of the Act.