The Supreme Court has agreed to list AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s plea seeking more time to register waqf properties on the UMEED portal. Advocate Nizam Pasha poetically argued that most of the allotted time was lost in waiting for the court’s decision.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to take up a plea filed by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. The petition seeks more time to register Waqf properties on the UMEED portal, a platform launched by the Centre for digital mapping and management of such properties.
Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for Owaisi, told the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai that the time fixed under the law was not enough.
He pointed out that under the June notification, six months were given for completing the process, but five months had already gone by while the case was pending.
Only one month now remains. Explaining the situation in a poetic manner, Pasha said,
“Umr daraz maang kar laaye the 4 din, 2 aarzo mein kat gaye, 2 intezaar mein.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in court for another matter, objected to the plea being mentioned in this way and insisted that the Centre should first be informed.
To this, the Chief Justice remarked,
“Let it be listed, listing does not mean granting (the relief).”
Earlier, on September 15, the top court had refused to completely stay the operation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. CJI B.R. Gavai had observed,
“Presumption is always in favour of the constitutionality of the statute. Though entire Act is sought to be challenged..we have considered prima facie challenged to each of the sections and after hearing the parties that case was not made out to stay the statute.”
However, the Court clarified that a few provisions would remain stayed until the Central Government frames the relevant rules.
The UMEED portal — Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development — was launched by the Centre on June 6, 2025. It mandates the digital inventory of all Waqf properties, including their geo-tagging and online registration. The law requires that all details must be uploaded within six months.
The amendments introduced major changes in Waqf law. One controversial clause stated that only persons practising Islam for at least five years could create Waqf. Another significant change was the deletion of the provision of “waqf by user.”
On this issue, the Court had earlier remarked that the Centre’s order deleting the concept of waqf by user was “prima facie not arbitrary” and that the argument that such lands would automatically be taken away by the government “held no water.”
The concept of waqf by user meant that if a property had been used for a long time for religious or charitable purposes, it could be treated as a waqf property even without a formal declaration by the owner. The abolition of this practice has been challenged by many petitioners.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 has already been opposed in multiple petitions before the Supreme Court.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board in its rejoinder said that the amendments
“infringe upon fundamental rights and were passed through a flawed parliamentary process.”
It further argued that the Centre’s defence that the changes do not impact essential religious practices is “legally untenable.”
The Board stressed that forcing petitioners into the Essential Religious Practices (ERP) test is “constitutionally misplaced” and ignores the progress of Indian constitutional law.
The Central Government, on its part, had defended the law strongly. In its affidavit, it stated that the amendments were made after wide consultations, including a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) comprising representatives from multiple political parties.
The affidavit also highlighted that some of the current petitioners themselves had participated in the JPC meetings.
On April 17, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre not to act on certain controversial provisions of the new law until further hearings. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had then assured the Court that the government would file its preliminary response within seven days.
The Kerala State Waqf Board has also filed a petition, describing the new law as
“unconstitutional,” “discriminatory,” and “subversive of secularism.”
The Board said the amendments threaten the autonomy of religious institutions, the federal spirit of the Constitution, and fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 25, 26, and 30.
On April 5, 2025, Aam Aadmi Party MLA and Delhi Waqf Board Chairman Amanatullah Khan also approached the Supreme Court, calling the Act unconstitutional for violating Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, and 300-A. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi too filed a separate petition where he termed the Act “unconstitutional” and argued that it “brazenly violates the fundamental rights of Muslims and the Muslim community.”
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, who was a member of the JPC that reviewed the Bill, also challenged it. In his plea, he stated that the Bill violates Articles 14, 25, 26, 29, and 300A. He also raised objections to the inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf Boards and the Waqf Council.
The Bill was originally introduced in Parliament by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on August 28, 2024. It proposed that waqf can only be created by Muslims practising Islam for at least five years.
This was a rollback from the 2013 amendment to the Waqf Act, 1995, which had allowed even non-Muslims to dedicate property as waqf. Historically, under the laws of 1913, 1923, 1954, and 1995, only Muslims could create waqf.
The present petitions before the Supreme Court now revolve around multiple issues — the time frame for registering properties on the UMEED portal, the abolition of waqf by user, and the larger question of the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.
The matter will be taken up in due course.
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