Supreme Court Upholds Waqf Registration Deadline
The Supreme Court of India on Monday, December 1, 2025, declined to grant a blanket extension for the registration of Waqf properties on the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal. A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih directed petitioners seeking more time to approach the respective Waqf Tribunals for individual extensions, emphasizing that the existing law provides such a mechanism.
Background of the Umeed Portal and Registration Mandate
The UMEED portal was launched by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs on June 6, 2025, with the objective of creating a comprehensive digital inventory of all Waqf properties across India through geo-tagging. As per the mandate, details of all registered Waqf properties were required to be uploaded to the portal within a six-month period, setting the deadline for December 6, 2025. This initiative is part of broader reforms aimed at enhancing the management and transparency of properties linked to Muslim endowments.
Petitioners' Concerns Over Deadline and Portal Functionality
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, argued that the six-month timeframe was insufficient, particularly given the challenges in obtaining historical details for Waqf properties that are often 100 to 125 years old. He highlighted that the portal would not accept registrations without complete mandatory fields. Additionally, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi pointed to alleged technical glitches within the Umeed portal, which he claimed hindered compliance. Sibal also raised concerns about the potential burden on nearly 10 lakh caretakers (muttawallis) if each had to file separate applications for extension before the tribunals.
Court's Rationale and Path Forward
The Supreme Court, however, maintained that it could not 'rewrite the Waqf Act' and that Section 3B of the Act already provides a clear avenue for applicants to seek extensions from the Waqf Tribunals on a case-by-case basis. The bench noted that a blanket extension would benefit even those who had not acted diligently. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta supported this stance, affirming that the law allows individual Waqf bodies to seek deadline extensions from tribunals. The Court clarified that applicants facing genuine technical or procedural difficulties could request extensions directly from the tribunals, and if further issues arose, they would have the liberty to approach the Supreme Court again.
5 Comments
Bella Ciao
This decision will only lead to more chaos and non-compliance, not transparency.
Mariposa
Upholding the letter of the law is the judiciary's role, and the SC has done that. Still, one hopes the Waqf Tribunals will be adequately resourced and flexible enough to handle the inevitable flood of individual extension requests fairly and efficiently.
Bermudez
Finally, some accountability for Waqf properties. Good decision by the SC!
Muchacho
Excellent move to ensure proper management. No excuses for non-compliance.
Coccinella
While it's important to uphold the law and prevent blanket delays, the genuine difficulties of digitizing ancient records shouldn't be underestimated. A more practical approach might have eased the transition.