The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list a plea seeking an extension of the deadline for the mandatory registration of all waqf properties, including waqf-by-user lands, on the central UMEED portal.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai took note of the request made by advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi. Pasha pointed out that the amended Waqf law had fixed a six-month period for completing registration, but “five months went during the judgment, we now only have one month left.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in the courtroom in connection with another matter, objected to the mentioning of the application, saying the Centre should first be informed. The CJI responded, “Let it be listed, listing does not mean granting (the relief).”
On September 15, the apex court had passed an interim order on petitions challenging provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. It had put on hold some key provisions, including the clause restricting the creation of Waqf to individuals who have practised Islam for the past five years.
However, the Court declined to stay the entire law, observing that a statutory enactment enjoys a presumption of constitutionality.
It also upheld the Centre’s decision to delete the waqf by user clause in the amended law, terming it prima facie not arbitrary. The Court noted that the argument that government authorities would grab waqf lands after the deletion “held no water.”
Waqf by user refers to the recognition of a property as waqf based on its long-standing, uninterrupted use for religious or charitable purposes, even without a formal declaration by the owner.
On June 6, the Centre launched the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal to digitise waqf property records. Under the new legal framework, all details of registered waqf properties across India must be geo-tagged and uploaded to the portal within six months.
