New Delhi, Oct 14 — The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on October 28 on a plea by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi seeking an extension of time for the mandatory registration of all waqf properties, including waqf-by-users, under the UMEED portal.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was urged by Owaisi’s lawyer, Nizam Pasha, to list the plea urgently as the six-month mandatory registration period is nearing its end. Another similar plea was also mentioned for urgent hearing, and the bench said it would consider listing it alongside Owaisi’s plea.
In an interim order on September 15, the top court had stayed certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including a clause restricting waqf creation to individuals practising Islam for the past five years, but refused to stay the entire law, citing its presumption of constitutionality. The court also held that the Centre’s deletion of the “waqf by user” provision was prima facie not arbitrary and dismissed arguments that waqf lands would be misappropriated by governments.
Waqf by user refers to properties recognised as religious or charitable endowments based on long-term, uninterrupted use, even without formal written declarations.
Earlier, on October 9, Pasha had highlighted that only one month remained of the six-month registration period mandated under the amended law. The Centre had launched the UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) portal on June 6 to create a digital inventory of waqf properties with geo-tagging, requiring mandatory registration of all waqf properties across India within six months. (Agencies)
