The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to re-list for hearing a plea filed by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi seeking an extension of the deadline for mandatory registration of all Waqf properties, including Waqf by user, on the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran assured advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for Owaisi, that a fresh hearing date would be given soon. Pasha had mentioned the matter urgently, pointing out that the issue could not be taken up on its earlier scheduled date, October 28.
The lawyer said that the six-month period prescribed under the amended Waqf law for registration of properties was about to expire. “Five months went during the judgment, we now only have one month left,” he told the bench while pressing for an early hearing.
In an interim order dated September 15, the Supreme Court had stayed the operation of certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the controversial clause restricting the creation of Waqf to persons who had practised Islam for at least five years. However, the bench declined to suspend the entire statute, observing that every law carries a presumption of constitutionality unless proven otherwise.
The court had also found that the Centre’s decision to remove the ‘Waqf by user’ provision from the amended law was prima facie not arbitrary, noting that concerns of government “land grabbing” raised by the petitioners “held no water.”
‘Waqf by user’ refers to properties that are recognised as Waqf based on long-standing religious or charitable use, even in the absence of a formal declaration by the owner.
The Union government launched the UMEED portal on June 6 to create a digital inventory of all Waqf properties across India through geo-tagging and online registration. As per its mandate, every Waqf property—registered or otherwise—is required to be listed on the portal within six months.
Owaisi’s application seeks additional time for compliance, arguing that most State Waqf Boards and managing committees were unable to complete the process due to the ongoing legal proceedings and delays following the court’s interim order.
The matter will now be listed for hearing on a fresh date to be fixed by the registry.
