Parliament Question: Legality of Extension of Waqf Registration Deadline

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 168 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.02.2026 LEGALITY OF EXTENSION OF WAQF REGISTRATION DEADLINE 168. SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI: Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the details of basis on which the Government fixed 5 December 2025 as the final date for registration of waqf properties on the UMEED portal whereas the Act mandates a 6-month period to be calculated from the date of commencement of the Act which makes 5 October 2025 the last date; (b) the manner in which the Government treats the date of launching the portal as the starting date instead of date of commencement of the Act; (c) the details of provision of law under which the Union Government has extended the last date for registration along with the clause which allows the Government to extend this statutory timeline; and (d) whether it is a fact that the Supreme Court has suggested that an amendment to the Act would be required to extend the deadline and if so, the details thereof along with the manner in which the Government has extended the last date from 5 October 2025 to 5 December 2025 without bringing an amendment? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU) (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 168 FOR ANSWER ON 11.02.2026 REGARDING ‘LEGALITY OF EXTENSION OF WAQF REGISTRATION DEADLINE’ ASKED BY SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI (a) to (d): The Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 came into force on 08.04.2025. Section 3B(1) of the Act mandates that details of all existing waqf and properties dedicated to waqf registered prior to the commencement of the Act shall be uploaded on the Portal within a period of six months. However, the statutory requirement of filing details of the waqf and the property dedicated to the waqf process is contingent upon availability of a functional Portal. In accordance with the provisions of Section 3(ka) of the Actthat states “portal and database” means the waqf asset management system or any other system set up by the Central Government for the registration, accounts, audit and any other detail of waqf and the Board. Accordingly, UMEED Central Portal–2025was developed and launched on 06.06.2025 for uploading details of existing waqf and properties dedicated to the waqf, registration of new waqf, and for facilitating the overall management and governance of waqf in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Since filing details of the waqf and the property dedicated to the waqf process can be undertaken only after the Portal became fully operational, the six month period has been computed from the date of launch of the Statutory UMEED Central Portal-2025 as to provide stakeholders the complete statutory operational window, in true spirit of the law and in consonance with the legislative intent of the Act. Accordingly, based on this operational timeline, the initial six-month period concluded on 06.12.2025. The Act also provides under Section 3B(1) that the Waqf Tribunal may, on an application basis, extend such period of six months under this section for a further period not exceeding six months as it may consider appropriate and if satisfies that applicant had sufficient cause for not filing the details of the Waqf on the portal within such period. Further, in the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 276 of 2025 concerning the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, listed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, it was noted by the Hon’ble Court that the UMEED Act, 1995, itself contains provisions under section 3B (1) of the Act, enabling extension of the time for uploading details of waqf properties on the UMEED Central Portal– 2025. Accordingly, as per the availability of this statutory remedy, the applications were disposed of with liberty to the applicants to approach the competent Waqf Tribunal for appropriate relief. During the hearing, the Hon’ble Apex Court was also informed that the prescribed six- month period for filing would end on 06.12.2025. The Court ordered that aggrieved parties could avail themselves of the remedy available under the UMEED Act, 1995 by approaching the Tribunals to seek an extension of the six-month period under this section, for a further period not exceeding six months. In view of the statutory remedy available under the Act, extensions of time were granted to the concerned State/UT Waqf Boards by the respective Hon’ble Tribunals/Courts. At present, the UMEED Central Portal–2025 has been reopened for 17 State/UT Waqf Boards so far where such orders have been received, exclusively for the purpose of uploading details of existing waqf and properties dedicated to waqf. *****