Waqf Amendment Act: SC to hear pleas for extension of registration deadline on Oct 28

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has listed for October 28 hearing on a plea of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi seeking extension of time for 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 lawyer Nizam Pasha that the plea needed urgent listing as the six months mandatory time period was nearing the end.

On Tuesday, another similar plea was mentioned for urgent hearing along with Owasi's plea on October 28.

The bench said it would consider listing the fresh one as well.

In an interim order, the top court had on September 15 put on hold a few key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including a clause that only those practising Islam for the last five years could create waqf, and reasoned that it cannot be in force until the court clears it after reviewing the ruled pertaining to it.

However, the court refused to stay the entire law outlining the presumption of constitutionality in its favour.

It also held the Centre's order to delete the "waqf by user" provision in the newly-amended waqf law was prima facie not arbitrary and the argument that waqf lands would be grabbed by governments held “no water”.

This has triggered widespread community concerns that a large chunk of waql properties existed without formal records of ownership, but were treated as waqf by use and used in that manner.

Further, if the said assets would be disputed for boundaries or ownership, the adjudication of the same would be done by revenue authorities and therefore were liable to be arbitrary or against the custodians of the land for centuries, and thus stood the risk of being appropriated by the government.

Waqf by user refers to a practice where a property is recognised as a religious or charitable endowment (waqf) based on its long-term, uninterrupted use for such purposes, even if there isn't a formal, written declaration of waqf by the owner.

Earlier on October 9, Pasha, appearing for Owaisi, had said that a miscellaneous application seeking extension of time for registration of waqf properties be heard.

He said that six months time was given in the amended law for registration of the waqf properties and “Five months went during the judgement, we now only have one month left.” The Centre had on June 6 launched the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 (UMEED) central portal to create a digital inventory after geo-tagging all waqf properties.

According to the mandate of the UMEED portal, particulars of all registered Waqf properties across India are to be mandatorily uploaded within six months.

(With PTI inputs)