Muslim member can’t serve in Waqf board after losing position in bar council

A Muslim member of a State Bar Council can’t serve in the state Waqf Board after losing his position in the bar body, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

According to Section 14 of the Waqf Act, 1995, a Muslim member of the Bar Council of a State/UT can be appointed as a member of the Waqf Board of the said state/UT. However, the question was if a Muslim Member of the Bar Council of the State or the Union territory, duly elected as a Member of the Waqf Board constituted under Section 14 of the Waqf Act, 1995, can continue to hold the said position, even after the expiry of his tenure in the Bar Council.

The top court answered the question in the negative.

“There are twin conditions to be eligible to be a Member of the Board: (1) The candidate must be from the Muslim community; and (2) must hold an active position as a Member of Parliament, State Legislative Assembly or Bar Council. If a person no longer fulfils these conditions, they cannot continue to hold the Board position (sic),” a Bench led by Justice MM Sundresh said.

The Bench – which also included Justice Rajesh Bindal set aside a judgment of a Division Bench of the Manipur High Court and restored the single judge’s decision, upholding the appointment of one Md Firoz Ahmad Khalid as member of the Manipur State Waqf Board.

However, it clarified that an ex-member of the bar council can be considered for Waqf Board membership only if there are no serving Muslim members in the Bar Council at present — an exception under the second provison to Section 14(2) of the Waqf Act.

Khalid was appointed a member of the Manipur Waqf Board in February 2023, following his election to the Manipur Bar Council. He replaced another person, who lost his position in the bar council after elections in December 2022.

While a single judge of the high court upheld Khalid’s appointment, the division bench reversed the decision, ruling the law did not explicitly require a bar council member to vacate their position on the Waqf Board upon ceasing to be a bar council member.

Writing judgement for the Bench, Justice Sundresh set aside the Division Bench verdict.