Supreme Court 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, but refused to stay the entire law. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Friday (November 28, 2025) agreed to hear on December 1 various pleas, including the one filed by All India Muslim Personal Law Board, seeking extension of time for the mandatory registration of all waqf properties, including ‘waqf by user’, under the UMEED portal.
A Bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih took note of the submissions of lawyer Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi, appearing for one of the petitioners, that the pleas needed to be listed for hearing urgently.
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“List these applications along with I.A. No…on December 01, 2025,” the Bench said.
Besides All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and various others moved the top court, seeking extension of time for mandatory registration of all waqf properties.
Earlier, a lawyer had said the six-month period for the mandatory registration of waqf was nearing its end.
In an interim order on September 15, the top court 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, but 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 law was prima facie not arbitrary and the argument that waqf lands would be grabbed by governments held “no water”.
‘Waqf by user’ refers to a practice where a property is recognised as a religious or charitable endowment (waqf) based on its uninterrupted long-term use for such purposes, even if there isn’t a formal, written declaration of Waqf by the owner.
The Centre launched the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Act central portal on June 6 to create a digital inventory after geo-tagging all waqf properties.
According to the mandate of the UMEED portal, details of all registered waqf properties across India are to be mandatorily uploaded within six months.
Published – November 29, 2025 04:29 am IST
