Supreme Court Refuses To Extend December 6 Deadline For Uploading Waqf Property Details

In a big win for the Centre, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the last date—December 6—for updating the details of registered Waqf properties on the Umeed portal.

The petitioners had claimed

that they were unable to upload the details of the Waqf properties on the portal due to technical glitches. Also, there were problems in finding the caretakers of Waqf properties who had to update the details on the website.

However, the Supreme Court said if one is not able to upload the details on the portal, they have the option to approach the Waqf tribunal.

“Approach the tribunal. Let them decide on a case-to-case basis. We can’t rewrite the Waqf Act,” a bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Augustine George Masih said, adding, “The statute already provides a remedy. Avail it. Why should we interfere?”

The Supreme Court bench underscored that it cannot step in when Parliament has already established a specific forum to resolve disputes related to the registration process.

“If the time freezes (in the Portal), you cannot be held responsible. If at all the Tribunal allows you, your six months will be counted and your application will be considered. You do not need permission. If difficulty arises, you can always file an application before us.”

With the Supreme Court refusing to alter or push back the legal deadline, applicants are now required to submit their representations to the Waqf Tribunal before December 6; keep a record of any technical difficulties faced while using the portal; and request extensions or clarifications directly from the Tribunal, which has been empowered under the amended law to grant such relief.

As part of its wider push to streamline the administration of Muslim endowment properties, the government introduced the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (Umeed) portal on June 6. The platform is designed to build a digital, geo-tagged database of all Waqf assets. Under the new mandate, every registered Waqf property in the country must be uploaded to the portal within a six-month window.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, while appearing for the applicants, argued that the “6-month time limit is very less, because we don’t know the details. We don’t know who the Waqif is for Waqfs of 100, 125 years old. Without these details, the portal won’t accept”.