Renowned lawyer Harish Salve on Tuesday presented his case on behalf of the Bohra community on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) of Parliament.
This community, through its lawyer, has once again demanded exemption from coming under its purview under the new legal system.
Salve, in his testimony before the committee, said that this situation had persisted under the earlier Waqf laws also. Let us tell you that Bohra community is a part of Shia Muslims. It is distinctly identified with its distinct religious beliefs.
Salve told the committee, “In 1962, the Honorable Supreme Court of India recognized the Dawoodi Bohra community as a ‘religious community’ under Article 26 of the Constitution.
This situation persists even today. The Supreme Court also noted that ‘the community has the right to use the property for the purpose for which it was dedicated.
The right and duty to manage the property and supervise the proper use of this property clearly rests with the Da’i (religious head)’.”
The Bohra community also informed that in 1923 this community had demanded to keep itself out of the then Waqf law.
Salve said, “Our community has an extremely limited number and our fundamental religious beliefs have been neglected by the broad sections of the Waqf law. “After struggling for a century, we have got this opportunity to present our views before the JPC on the relevance of the Waqf Act, 1995.”
The Bohra community stressed that its religious beliefs and practices are protected by Articles 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution. Thus, he should be completely kept out of the Waqf Act, 1995.
Salve told the committee that the total population of this community is about six lakh in the entire country. He said, “The Dawoodi Bohra community is a small and strong community, which does not need any such arrangement. “This may be necessary for other sects that do not believe in the same religious principles as us.”
Following this, several MPs from opposition parties asked Salve whether the Bohra community had any comment on some provisions of the new Waqf law, such as the appointment of non-Muslims on boards and Waqfs. According to sources, the Bohra community decided not to comment on this.
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