SC to Hear Owaisi’s Plea Seeking More Time for Waqf Property Registration
New Delhi, Nov 3: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea filed by AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi seeking an extension of time for the mandatory registration of all Waqf properties, including ‘Waqf by user’, under the UMEED portal.
The bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B. R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran said it would fix a new date for the hearing after Owaisi’s counsel, Nizam Pasha, sought an urgent listing. The plea, earlier scheduled for hearing on October 28, could not be taken up.
Pasha told the bench that the six-month deadline for registering Waqf properties was about to expire. The amended Waqf law had provided six months for registration, but “five months went during the judgment process, and now only one month remains,” he said.
In an interim order on September 15, the Supreme Court had stayed certain provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including the clause restricting the creation of Waqf to those practising Islam for at least five years, but refused to suspend the entire Act.
The court also noted that the Centre’s decision to remove the ‘Waqf by user’ provision was not arbitrary, rejecting arguments that it could lead to government encroachment on Waqf lands.
The UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) portal, launched on June 6, mandates the digital registration and geo-tagging of all Waqf properties across India within six months.
