BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh has reportedly become the first state to reconstitute its Waqf Board under the provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
Following a decision by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the state government issued a notification in the Madhya Pradesh Gazette reconstituting the MP State Waqf Board under the amended law.
Sanwar Patel has been reappointed as the Board's chairman. The newly constituted 10-member Board includes two non-Muslim (Hindu) members—Manoj Malpani of Indore and Animesh Bhargava of Guna.
Bhargava, who hails from Raghogarh in Guna district, is associated with the financial sector and is also a BJP media panellist in Madhya Pradesh.
The other members are Najma Heptulla (New Delhi), Atif Aqueel, Faizan Khan (Ujjain), Fatema Choudhary (Indore), Shaista Sultan and Shabana Khan (Indore). The Commissioner of the Backward Classes and Minority Welfare Department will serve as an ex officio member.
Najma Heptulla, who was appointed under the elected category through a notification issued on April 19, 2023, under Section 14 of the Waqf Act, 1995 (as amended in 2013), will continue on the Board as her tenure remains valid until April 18, 2028. Accordingly, her name has been retained in the fresh notification for the remainder of her term.
The notification states that the state government has constituted the Waqf Board by exercising the powers conferred under Section 13(1) of the Waqf Act, 1995, as amended by the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, in accordance with the provisions of Section 14 of the Act.