WAQF (Amendment) 2025: Property, Procedure, and Constitution Questions Explained

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Introduction 

The concept of Waqf in Islamic law is as old as the concept of charity itself. It means the property is dedicated in perpetuity for religious or philanthropic purposes. Across India, mosques, graveyards, dargahs, madrasas, orphanages, and countless community institutions survive on waqf income. Yet, the very property meant for welfare has often been trapped in disputes, encroachment, or mismanagement. To address all these challenges, the Parliament has passed the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025. The act contributes to the reforms in managing the waqf property, procedures for dispute resolution, and powers of the boards and government officials. But, there arises a debate on the constitutional validity, religious autonomy, and administrative overreach. This article is divided into 3 parts explaining the property, procedure, and constitutional questions. 

Property: Securing Assets or Restricting Rights 

The core principle of the Waqf Amendment 2025 is about managing the property. For decades, waqf lands and buildings have been vulnerable to encroachment, illegal sale, or unauthorized use. The amendment tries to tackle this problem by:

1. Comprehensive Asset Records - The Act makes it mandatory for the states to digitize all the Waqf properties in one portal. This aims to provide a transparent, tamper-proof system for monitoring waqf property.
2. Encroachment and Limitation - Before the amendment, the waqf board could recover the land anytime, even after decades. But after the amendment, there is a limitation period, and property cannot be recovered easily if there exists a long possession by others of the property. Supporters argue this gives finality to property disputes; critics warn it undermines the principle that waqf is inalienable and eternal.
3. Creation of Waqf - The act modifies the doctrine of ‘Waqf by users’, which declared that the property that was used for a long period of time for religious purposes should be declared as Waqf. Now, the amendment insists that the new waqf declarations need proper documentation. This reduces the ambiguity, but at the same time, excludes community-driven endowments, especially in rural areas. 

There are arguments supporting that the amendments benefit the lands from being used fraudulently, but they put the age-old traditions in question. 

Procedure: How the Amendment Changes Waqf in Practice

The Waqf practices in India have always been slow and prone to corruption. But the amendments simplify and centralize power in new ways. 

1. Centralized Power - The amendment has created a centralized portal to register all the waqf properties’ details, such as property details, lease agreements, encroachment complaints, etc. The hope is to ensure efficiency and prevent manipulation of paper records.
2. Role of District officials - The act empowers district collectors and other executive officers to intervene in disputes involving waqf property. It shifts power from the independent tribunals to executive authority.
3. Changes to Board Composition - This amendment revises the constituted members of the waqf board. It prescribes fixed tenures for members, clearer nomination rules, and in some cases, even the inclusion of non-Muslim members. This provision broadens the representations, but it is also criticized for the dilution of the particular community over its religious endowments. 

Constitutional Questions: Between Reform and Rights

Regarding the waqf properties, there are already many existing cases in the Supreme Court after the amendment. The petitions argue that this amendment violates the fundamental rights and is against the secularism of India. The most important questions are as follows 

1. Freedom of Religion (Article 25-26) - Religious minorities have the authority to manage their own institution. By expanding government control over board composition and curbing doctrines like waqf by user, the law arguably interferes with the community’s autonomy.
2. Separation of Power - By giving quasi-judicial authority to the executives, it blurs the line between adjudication and administration. The criticisms point out that executive officials cannot be impartial arbiters when they also represent the state’s interests.
3. Retrospectivity and legitimate exceptions - By enacting the enforcement period, it will be challenging to recover the properties which has been encroached decades ago. This could extinguish claims that the waqf community had long expected to pursue, raising questions of fairness and due process.

The Supreme Court has closely looked into the petitions and will examine the validity of the amendment. It will set a tone for how India balances religious freedom on the basis of charitable endowments.

The Human Impact on the Amendment 

Behind all these legal opinions, there are many untold scenarios. A widow looking forward to the rent from a waqf-owned house, a small madrasa feeding children daily, and a community shrine maintained through waqf donations. All of them depend on how the new laws will be enacted. The amendments of 2025 promise accountability. If the implementation goes poorly, it could damage the very purpose of Waqf, to serve people in need. For many, waqf is not just property; it's a memory that restores a tangible faith.

Conclusion

The Waqf (amendment) 2025 is a very significant legal intervention that India has made in the field of religious endowments. By modernizing records, redefining waqf creation, and altering dispute procedures, it aims to safeguard assets long vulnerable to mismanagement and encroachment. Yet, the law also centralizes power, reduces the scope of community-led recognition, and raises deep constitutional challenges about minority rights and separation of powers.