JPC on Waqf Bill to hear Jamaat-e-Islam-e-Hind, Muslim women’s group, other stakeholders today

NEW DELHI: A meeting of Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, will be held in the Parliament Annexe building on Monday.

In the meeting, the committee has called representatives of Jamaat-e-Islam-e-Hind, Delhi, to record their oral evidence on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The committee has also called the Muslim Women Intellectual Group, led by Shalini Ali, to record their views and suggestions. This is first time, when committee has called any group of women.

The committee will also hear views and suggestions of Jamiyat Himaytul Islam led by Qari Abrar Jamal today. Further, Shia Muslim Dharmguru and intellectual group led by Maulana Kokab Mujtaba and Vishwa Shanti Parishad led by Faiz Ahmad Faiz (national president) will also record their oral evidence on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

#WATCH | Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islam-e-Hind, Delhi led by Malik Moatasim Khan and Muslim Women Intellectual Group led by Dr. Shalini Ali reached Parliament House Annexe to appear before JPC over Waqf Amendment Bill. pic.twitter.com/wPQ77rnyBu

— ANI (@ANI) November 4, 2024

The Joint Committee of Parliament will also meet on November 5. In this meeting committee will record views and suggestions Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad led by Shreehari Borikar, Anveshak led Gaurav Agarwal, Anjuman Shiateali Bohra led by Dawoodi Community Senior Counsel, Dr Mohammad Hanif Ahmad (Associate Professor, AMU, Aligarh) and Dr Imran Chudhary and Group, Convener, Student and Madarsa Cell on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

It also notable that the JPC’s efforts are part of a larger national initiative to reform the Waqf Act and ensure that waqf properties are used for the greater good of the community. The Waqf Act, 1995, which was created to regulate waqf properties, has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.

The JPC is holding a series of meetings to gather input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from different states and Union Territories, aiming for the most comprehensive reform possible. (ANI)