The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 will be held on August 22 at the Parliament House Annexe in Delhi. Representatives from Union Minority Affairs Ministry and Law & Justice Ministry will brief the members about the Bill.

The committee, chaired by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, is set to discuss the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. During the meeting, representatives from the Minority Affairs Ministry will present the details of the bill and its proposed amendments to the members. Officials from the Law Ministry will also be in attendance.

This parliamentary committee, which is scrutinizing the bill, includes 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The bill was initially introduced during the budget session of Parliament, which concluded earlier this month, and it was decided to refer the legislation to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, proposes renaming the Waqf Act of 1995 to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995. It aims to clarify the definition of "waqf" as property endowed by any individual practicing Islam for at least five years and having ownership of such property. The bill also ensures that the creation of Waqf-alal-aulad does not infringe upon women's inheritance rights.

Key changes include the removal of provisions related to "waqf by user," assigning the Survey Commissioner’s duties to the Collector or another officer of Deputy Collector rank, and expanding the composition of the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards to include representation from Muslim women and non-Muslims.

Additionally, the bill proposes establishing a separate Board of Auqaf for Boharas and Aghakhanis and eliminating section 40, which pertains to the Board's authority to determine if a property is waqf property. It also introduces measures for better oversight, such as requiring mutawallis to file accounts through a central portal, and reforms the Tribunal structure with two members, allowing appeals against Tribunal orders to be made to the High Court within ninety days.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha, has indicated that the JPC will submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the end of the first week of the winter session of Parliament.