After Parliament nod, what’s next for the Waqf legislation?

New Delhi: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by Parliament this week after two marathon debates in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Once approved by the President, the bill will become law.

Advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court, Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, who also made a presentation about the bill before the joint parliamentary committee (JPC), said that after the President’s assent, a notification will be issued indicating the effective date of its implementation. “From that date, the statute stands amended, and it becomes the law of the land,” he said.

Ayyubi pointed out that the bill contained some provisions — like sections under original Act that have been repealed will be easy to implement such as power to determine Waqf property was in the hands of the Waqf board but it has now been removed, and that will be implemented immediately, and others, such as the process of conducting inquiries, especially by the collector when referred by the board, will require clarity in the rules -- that will require more time for the rules to be framed. “Some amendments will only require procedural tweaks.”

According to Ayyubi, provisions related to government properties and the role of designated officers will also need further clarification in the rules. “For government properties, there will need to be a designated officer. The specifics of who this officer will be, their tenure, and their jurisdiction will be outlined in the rules,” he said.

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Additionally, the process for conducting inquiries by the collector, especially when referred by the waqf board, will require more detailed guidelines. “The survey is now in the hands of the collector, and rules will be needed to outline how inquiries will be conducted,” he said.

Other aspects, such as the format for presenting applications related to waqf properties, will also require further rule-making. “The format for applications, which will specify that a property requires designation, is already outlined in sections 3A, 3B, and 3C, but further rules will be needed to finalise the form,” Ayyubi noted.

The Union ministry of minority affairs is responsible for drafting these rules. “Rules will be formed once the President gives her assent to the Bill,” said an official from the ministry, requesting anonymity. “We are hopeful that the publishing of the rules will not take much time, as the ministry is clear regarding the bill and the amendments.”

Once the rules are finalised, they must be published within six months of the bill becoming law, although extensions can be granted in certain circumstances. Public consultation is required for some rules, with a minimum of 30 days for feedback. If there are many suggestions during this process, the timeline for publication could extend to six months. For rules that don’t require public consultation, the deadline remains six months from the bill’s enactment.

Former Secretary General of Lok Sabha PDT Achary talked to HT about the next steps of the bill-- Achary said that once the President gives assent and it’s notified in the gazette, there may be some provisions in the amended bill which provide for rules and certain amendments are already described. To be sure, Clause 41 of the Bill seeks to insert a new section 108A, which confers power upon the Central Government to make rules. Achary said only when the rules are framed and notified can an Act be enacted, so the rules must be framed “immediately.” “In a few cases, the government makes the rules before the bill has even been tabled or passed in the Parliament, so that as soon as it's passed, the rules can be notified,” Achary said.

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On the issue of whether the rules be put in public domain for consultation, Achary said that its not “compulsory” for the government to do so and especially in the case of Waqf wherein the bill was sent to a JPC for consultation, govt might opt to not carry any further consultations. However, if the government chooses to do so then it will be put up for consultation and the responses will be collected and sent to the Parliament.

“Once the rules are formulated, they come into effect and are also laid on the table of both the houses. The members have the right to suggest amendments to these rules,” Achary said. He further explained that if the amendment is accepted, then the rules become effective in the amended manner, and if not, then the rules will remain as originally notified.