Government Offers Relief for Waqf Property Registration Amid Technical Challenges
Union Government's Announcement on Waqf Registration
On Friday, the Union government declared that it will not impose penalties or take action against custodians who register waqf properties on the UMEED portal for the next three months, following the deadline that concludes on Saturday. This decision comes in response to concerns regarding the low number of registrations on the portal, which has been hindered by technical issues and difficulties in accessing documents for properties that are centuries old.
Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, stated that custodians unable to complete the registration should reach out to the Waqf Tribunal. He emphasized that while the Centre aims to provide maximum relief, it must adhere to legal requirements.
The Waqf Amendment Act of 2025, enacted in April, mandates that custodians register records on the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development portal. This portal, developed by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, aims to create a digital inventory of waqf properties through geo-tagging.
A waqf refers to an endowment under Islamic law dedicated to religious, educational, or charitable purposes. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity authorized to manage property.
The UMEED portal was launched on June 6, with rules established on July 3, giving custodians a six-month window to register property details.
Recent reports indicate that only a small percentage of properties in four of the five states with the highest number of waqf lands have been registered. Uttar Pradesh leads with 1.4 lakh waqf properties, followed by West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Nationwide, there are approximately 8.8 lakh waqf properties.
As of Thursday, only 35% of properties in these states had been registered on UMEED. In West Bengal, 12% were registered by Monday night, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reported 10% each. Punjab had registered 80% of its properties by Wednesday.
In light of these challenges, several political parties and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board have approached the Supreme Court to request an extension for the registration deadline. However, the court declined the request, advising petitioners to seek relief from the Waqf Tribunal, which has the authority to extend deadlines as per Section 3B of the Waqf Act.
During a hearing, advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, argued that the time allocated for registration was insufficient due to the unavailability of necessary details for properties that are over a century old.
On Monday, Opposition MPs met with Rijiju to request a six-month extension. Following the meeting, Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain noted that the compliance period had effectively been shorter, as clarity on key provisions was only provided after the Supreme Court's interim order in mid-September.
On September 15, the Supreme Court stayed several provisions of the Waqf Amendment Act but did not halt the entire amendment process. The court also declined to suspend the requirement for waqf registration, which existed prior to the amendment.
Hussain highlighted that many waqf properties are located in rural areas, where custodians may be elderly or lack digital skills. He pointed out that the portal requires detailed information that is often unavailable for century-old waqfs, complicating the registration process. The minister responded positively, assuring that necessary measures would be taken to protect genuine waqf properties and their custodians.