Supreme Court To Hear Pleas On Dec 1 For Extension Of Waqf Registration Deadline On UMEED Portal

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to urgently hear on December 1 a batch of pleas, including a significant application filed by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), seeking an extension of the mandatory six-month deadline for the registration of all waqf properties on the central government’s new digital platform, the UMEED portal.

The mandate requires the details of all waqf properties across the country to be uploaded onto the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) central portal, which was launched on June 6, following the enactment of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. With the six-month period nearing its end, petitioners argue that technical glitches, a lack of documentation, and the sheer volume

of properties nationwide make compliance by the deadline nearly impossible.

The pleas specifically seek an extension for the registration of all properties, including those falling under the category of “waqf by user”. “Waqf by user” refers to property recognised as a religious or charitable endowment based on its uninterrupted, long-term use for such purposes, even without a formal written deed. This provision has been a point of contention; while the Centre’s amended law effectively deleted the concept for future waqfs, the Supreme Court, in an interim order on September 15, had refused to stay the entire law but put on hold a few key provisions. The court, however, had previously held that the deletion of the “waqf by user” provision was prima facie not arbitrary.

Besides the AIMPLB, other key figures, including AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, have also moved the apex court, urging for more time. Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, a member of the AIMPLB’s Executive Committee, has highlighted the massive administrative and demographic challenges facing mutawallis (caretakers) and state waqf boards in digitising and uploading centuries-old, often handwritten, documents in the stipulated time frame.

The bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, agreed to list the applications for an urgent hearing, recognising the criticality of the deadline for waqf institutions across the country. The outcome of the December 1 hearing will determine whether the Ministry of Minority Affairs will be directed to provide a reprieve from the looming submission deadline.