JPC on Waqf Bill to present report today after 6 months of consultations

BJP MP and Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagadambika Pal said on Thursday that the JPC will present its report in Parliament today, after six months of nationwide consultations.

Speaking to ANI, the JPC Chairman emphasised the committee toured the country to collect inputs before finalising the report, which included the adoption of 25 amendments across 14 clauses.

"Today the JPC will produce its report in the Parliament. To have a detailed discussion and deliberation, the JPC was formed six months ago. In the last six months, we have prepared a report after touring the whole nation. We have adopted 25 amendments in 14 clauses," he said.

The Waqf JPC Chairman also spoke about the concerns of some JPC members who felt their views were not heard, clarifying that dissenting notes have been included in the report's appendix, along with records from relevant stakeholders.

"Some members of the JPC had a complaint that they were not listened to. After the adoption of the report, we asked them to submit a note of dissent. We have also attached the note of dissent to the appendix of the report. We will also present the records of the stakeholders today," Jagdambika Pal said.

According to the List of Business of Lok Sabha, Jagdambika Pal, chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will present the report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 today.

They will also lay on the table the record of evidence given before the Joint Committee. The report was presented to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30, 2025.

In Rajya Sabha, the report will be tabled by Medha Vishram Kulkarni and Gulam Ali.

The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill adopted the draft report and the amended revised bill on January 29.

However, opposition leaders submitted their dissent notes on the report.

Trinamool Congress MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Md Nadimul Haque, who were members of the panel, had protested "the expunction of key portions of their dissent notes" submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Banerjee and Haque alleged that the committee's conclusions were biased and predetermined and claimed that the committee ignored stakeholder representations, witness depositions, and submissions made by opposition members.

The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.