#THE MUSSALMAN WAKF ACT, 1923 
_________ 

##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS. 

*Preliminary*

1. Short title, extent and commencement. 
2. Definitions. 

*Statements of Particulars*

3. Obligation to furnish particulars relating to wakf. 
4. Publication of particulars and requisition of further particulars. 

*Statements of Accounts and Audits.*

5. Statement of accounts. 
6. Audit of account. 

*General Provisions.*

7. Mutawalli entitled to pay cost of audit, etc., from wakf funds. 
8. Verification. 
9. Inspection and copies. 

*Penalty.*

10. Penalties. 

*Rules.*

11. Power to make rules. 
12. Savings. 
13. Exemption. 
 
 
 
#THE MUSSALMAN WAKF ACT, 1923 

##ACT NO. 42 OF 1923 [^1]

[5th August, 1923.] 

An Act to make provision for the better management of wakf property and for ensuring the 
keeping and publication of proper accounts in respect of such properties 

WHEAREAS  it  is  expedient  to  make  provision  for  the  better  management  of  wakf  property  and  for 
ensuring the keeping and publication of proper accounts in respect of such properties; 

It is hereby enacted as follows— 

*Preliminary*

1. **Short title, extent and commencement.**—(1) This Act may be called the Mussalman Wakf 
Act, 1923; 

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the territories which immediately before the 1st 
November, 1956, were comprised in Part B States.

(3) This section shall come into force at once; and. 

(4) The  State  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  direct that  the  remaining 
provisions  of this  Act,  or  any  of  them  which  it  may  specify,  shall  come  into  force in  the  State,  or any 
specified part thereof, on such date as it may appoint in this behalf. 

2. **Definitions.**—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,— 

(a) “benefit” does not include any benefit which a mutwalli is entitled to claim solely by reason of 
his being such mutwalli; 



[^1]. This Act has been repealed in its application to Bengal by the Bengal Wakf  Act, 1934 (Bengal 13 of 1934), section 82; 
and repealed in  part  in  the  United  Provinces  by  the  United  Provinces  Muslim  Wakf  Act,  1936  (U.P.  13  of  1936);  and 
amended in its application to— 
Bihar and Orissa by the Bihar and Orissa Mussalman Wakf (Amendment) Act, 1926 (B. & O., 1 of 1926); and 
Bombay by the Mussalman Wakf, (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1935 (Bombay 18 of 1935); the Mussalman Wakf, Bombay 
Public  Trusts  Registration  and  Parsi  Public  Trusts  Registration  (Amendment)  Act,  1944  (Bombay  10  of  1944)  and  the 
Mussalman Wakf (Bombay Amendment) Act, 1945 (Bombay 15 of 1945). 
This Act shall not apply to any wakf to which the Wakf Act, 1954 (29 of 1954) applies. 
 
 
 

(b) “Court” means the Court of the District Judge or, within the limits of the ordinary original civil 
jurisdiction of a High Court, such Court, subordinate to the High Court, as the State Government may, 
by notification in the Official Gazette, designate in this behalf; 

(c) “Mutwalli” means any person  appointed  either  verbally  or  under  any  deed  or  instrument  by 
which a wakf has been created or by a Court of competent jurisdiction to be the mutwalli of a wakf, 
and  includes  a  naib-mutwalli  or  other  person  appointed  by  a  mutwalli  to  perform  the  duties  of  the 
mutwalli,  and,  save  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  Act,  any  person  who  is  for  the  time  being 
administering any wakf property; 

(d) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; and 

(e) “wakf”  means  the  permanent  dedication  by  a  person  professing  the  Mussalman  faith  of  any 
property for any purpose recognised by the Mussalman law as religious, pious or charitable, but does 
not include any wakf, such as is described in section 3 of the Mussalman Wakf Validating Act, 1913 
(6  of  1913),  under  which  any  benefit  is  for  the  time  being  claimable  for  himself  by  the  person  by 
whom the wakf was created or by any of his family or descendants. 

*Statements of Particulars*

3. **Obligation to furnish particulars relating to wakf.**—(1)  Within  six  months  from  the 
commencement  of  this  Act  every  mutwalli  shall  furnish  to  the  Court  within  the  local  limits  of  whose 
jurisdiction the property of the wakf of which he is the mutwalli is situated or to any one of two more 
such Courts, a statement containing the following particulars, namely— 

(a) a description of the wakf property sufficient for the identification thereof; 

(b) the gross annual income from such property; 

(c) the gross amount of such income which has been collected during the five years preceding the 
date on which the statement is furnished, or of the period which has elapsed since the creation of the 
wakf, whichever period is shorter; 

(d) the amount of Government revenue and cesses, and of all rents, annually payable in respect of 
the wakf property; 

(e) an estimate of the expenses annually incurred in the realisation of the income of the wakf 
property,  based  on  such  details  as  are  available  of  any  such  expenses  incurred  within  the  period  to 
which the particulars under clause (c) relate; 

(f) the amount set apart under the wakf for— 

  (i) the salary of the mutwalli and allowances to individuals; 

  (ii) purely religious purposes; 

  (iii) charitable purposes; 

  (iv) any other purposes; and 

(g) any other particulars which may be prescribed. 

(2) Every such statement shall be accompanied by a copy of the deed or instrument creating the wakf 
or, if no such deed or instrument has been executed or a copy thereof cannot be obtained shall contain full 
particulars, as far as they are known to the mutwalli, of the origin, nature and objects of the wakf. 

(3) Where— 

  (a) a wakf is created after the commencement of this Act, or 

  (b) in the case of a wakf such as is described in section 3 of the Wakf Validation Act, 1913 (6 of 
1913) the person creating the wakf or any member of his family or any of his descendants is 
at the commencement of this Act alive and entitled to claim any benefit thereunder, 

the statement referred to in sub-section (1) shall be furnished, in the case referred to in clause (a), within 
six months of the date on which the wakf is created or, if it has been created by a written document, of the 
date on which such document is executed, or, in the case referred to in clause (b), within six months of the 
date of the death of the person entitled to such benefit as aforesaid, or of the last survivor of any such 
persons, as the case may be. 

4. **Publication of particulars and requisition of further particulars.**—(1) When any statement has 
been furnished under section 3, the court shall cause notice of the furnishing thereof to be affixed in some 
conspicuous  place  in  the  Court-house  and  to  be  published  in  such  other  manner,  if  any,  as  may  be 
prescribed, and thereafter any person may apply to the Court by a petition in writing, accompanied by the 
prescribed fee, for the issue of an order requiring the mutwalli to furnish further particulars or documents. 

(2) On such application being made, the Court may, after making such inquiry, if any, as it thinks fir, 
if  it  is  of  opinion that  any  further  particulars  or  documents  are  necessary  in  order  that  full  information 
may be obtained regarding the origin, nature or objects of the wakf or the condition or management of the 
wakf property, cause to be served on the muttwalli an order requiring him to furnish such particulars or 
documents within such time as the Court may direct in the order. 

*Statement of Accounts and Audit*

5. **Statement of accounts.**—Within three months after the thirty-first day of  March next following the 
date on which the statement referred to in section 3 has been furnished and thereafter within three months 
of  the thirty-first  day  of  March in  every  year,  every  mutwalli  shall  prepare  and  furnish  to the  Court  to 
which such statement was furnished a full and true statement of accounts, in such form and containing 
such particulars as may be prescribed, of all moneys received or expended by him on behalf of the wakf 
of which he is the mutwalli during the period of twelve months ending on such thirty-first day of March 
or, as the case may be, during that portion of the said period during which the provisions of this Act have 
been applicable to the wakf: 

Provided that the Court may, if it is satisfied that there is sufficient cause for so doing, extend the time 
allowed for the furnishing of any statement of accounts under this section. 

6. **Audit of account.**—Every  statement  of  accounts  shall,  before  it  is  furnished  to  the  Court  under 
section 5, be audited— 

  (a) in the case a wakf the gross income of which during the year in question, after deduction of the 
land revenue and cesses, if any, payable to the Government, exceeds two thousand rupees, by a person 
who  is  the  holder  of  a  certificate  granted  by  the Central Government under  section  144  of  the 
Indian Companies Act, 1913  (7  of  1913),  or  is  a  member  of  any  institution  or  association  the 
members of which have been declared under that section to be entitled to act as auditors of companies 
throughout the territories to which this Act applies; or 
 
(b) in the case of any other wakf, by any person authorised in this behalf by general or special order 
of the said Court.

*General Provisions*

7. **Mutawalli entitled to pay cost of audit, etc., from wakf funds.**—Notwithstanding  any  thing 
contained in the deed or instrument creating any wakf, every mutawalli may pay from the income of the 
wakf  property  any  expenses  properly  incurred  by  him  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to  furnish  any 
particulars, documents or copies under section 3 or section 4 or in respect of the preparation or audit of 
the annual accounts for the purposes of this Act. 

8. **Verification.**—Every  statement  of  particulars  furnished  under  section  3  or  section  4,  and  every 
statement of accounts furnished under Section 5, shall be written in the language of the Court to which it 
is  furnished,  and  shall  be  verified  in  the  manner  provided  in  the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  1908  (5  of 
1908), for the signing and verification of pleadings. 

9. **Inspection and copies.**—Any person shall, with the permission of the Court and on payment of the 
prescribed fee, at any time at which the Court is open, be entitled to inspect in the prescribed manner, or 
to obtain a copy of, any statement of particulars or any document furnished to the Court under section 3 or 
section 4, or any statement of accounts furnished to it under Section 5, or any audit report made on an 
audit under Section 6.

*Penalty*

10. **Penalties.**—Any person who is required by or under section 3 or section 4 to furnish a statement 
of particulars or any document relating to a wakf, or who is required by Section 5 to furnish a statement 
of accounts, shall, if he, without reasonable cause the burden of proving which shall lie upon him fails to 
furnish such statement or document, as the case may be, in due time, or furnishes a statement which he 
knows or has reason to believe to be false, misleading or untrue in any material particular, or, in the case 
of  a statement  of  account, furnishes  a  statement  which  has  not been audited  in  the  manner  required  by 
Section 6, be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or, in the case of a second or 
subsequent offence, with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees.

*Rules*

11. **Power to make rules.**—(1) The State Government may, after previous publication, by notification 
in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry into effect the purposes of this Act. 

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may 
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely— 

  (a) the additional particulars to be furnished by mutawallis under clause (g) of sub-section (1) of 
section 3; 

  (b) the fees to be charged upon applications made to a Court under sub-section (1) of section 4; 

  (c) the form in which the statement of accounts referred to in section 5 shall be furnished, and the 
particulars which shall be contained therein; 

  (d)  the  powers  which  may  be  exercised  by  auditors  for  the  purpose  of  any  audit  referred  to  in 
section 6, and the particulars to be contained in the reports of such auditors;  

  (e) the fees respectively chargeable on account of the allowing of inspections and of the supply of 
copies under section 9; 

  (f) the safe custody of statements, audit reports and copies of deeds or instruments furnished to 
Courts under this Act; and 

  (g) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed. 

(3) Every rule made by the State Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it 
is made, before the State Legislature.

12. **Savings.**—Nothing in this Act shall— 

(a) affect any other enactment for the time being in force in the territories to which this Act 
applies providing for the control or supervision of religious or charitable endowments; or 

(b) apply in the case of any wakf the property of which— 

  (i) is being administered by the Treasurer of Charitable Endowments, the Administrator 
General, or the Official Trustee; or 

  (ii)  is  being  administered  either  by  a  receiver  appointed  by  any  Court  of  competent 
jurisdiction,  or  under  a  scheme  for  the  administration  of  the  wakf  which  has  been  settled  or 
approved  by  any  Court  of  competent  jurisdiction  or  by  any  other  authority  acting  under  the 
provisions of any enactment. 

13. **Exemption.**—The  State  Government  may,  by  notification  in the  Official  Gazette,  exempt  from 
the operation of this Act or of any specified provision thereof any wakf or wakfs created or administered 
for the benefit of any specified section of the Mussalman community. 

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