DH Deciphers | Waqf (Amendment) Bill: Can Modi govt address NDA allies' flexibility requests in rule framing?

Sumit Pande examines the process of how this bill will come into effect and whether the Modi government can still accommodate suggestions from NDA allies who sought 'flexibility' in allowing states to decide the composition of the Waqf Boards.

New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu has given assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, passed by Parliament last week. Sumit Pande examined the process of how this bill will come into effect and whether the Modi government can still accommodate suggestions from NDA allies who sought “flexibility” in allowing states to decide the composition of the Waqf Boards.

Does a law passed by Parliament come into effect immediately after getting the stamp of approval from both houses?

A bill cleared by Parliament is sent for Presidential assent. According to Article 111, the President may either approve, withhold, or return a non-money Bill. If a returned bill is passed again by the Parliament, the President is obligated to sign it. A Money Bill cannot be returned to Parliament. The President is also bound to give his assent to the Constitution Amendment Bill.

What happens after the President gives assent to a bill?

The law enacted by Parliament may only specify the intent and a broad outline for the working of the enacted law. The task of drafting the framework for the implementation is left to the executive. This delegation of legislative power by the legislature for framing rules, regulations, and byelaws is called the process of Subordinate Legislation. However, the rules drafted by the executive under this mandate should not seek to replace or modify the parent act.

For the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, too, after Presidential assent, the government will now have to draft and notify rules corresponding to the statute.

Can the Modi government still accommodate suggestions made by NDA allies in the framing of the rules?

Presidential assent is published by the government in the Gazette of India. The rules are framed by the ministry that has piloted the bill. In the drafting of the rules for the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, the government may show “flexibility” within the framework of the parent law in meeting some of the demands of its allies. The TDP, for instance, has demanded that the Constitution of the state Waqf Boards be left to the state governments.

Can a law come into effect without the framing of rules?

Any law, either passed by Parliament or the state legislature, cannot be implemented without the framing of rules. The Modi government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019. The law allowing for granting Indian citizenship to religious minorities in neighboring countries came into force in 2024 with the notification of the rules that defined, among other prerequisites, eligibility criteria for the applicants.

How does Parliament ensure the executive does not overstep its mandate in framing subordinate legislation?

Parliament has recommended that the government make rules within six months of passing a law. The parliamentary committees on subordinate legislation examine and report to the House whether powers to make rules and regulations as delegated by the legislature are being properly exercised. One of the major tasks of the committees is to ensure that rules do not give a retrospective effect to any provision of the statute unless clearly stated in the parent law.

The committees (of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) are quasi-judicial in approach, but their recommendations are not binding on the government.