Supreme Court Refuses to Extend Waqf Registration Deadline, Directs Applicants to Seek Relief Before Tribunal
Supreme Court: Statute Cannot Be Rewritten; Tribunal Is the Correct Route for Waqf Extension Requests
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the six-month deadline for mandatory registration of Waqf properties on the UMEED Portal under the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, directing applicants instead to seek relief before the Waqf Tribunal.
The Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih heard a batch of pleas seeking more time to upload mandatory property details, with petitioners arguing that meeting the April 8 to December 6 deadline was impossible due to missing historical records, mandatory data fields and persistent portal glitches.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, said the six-month window was “far too short,” especially when the portal itself went live only on June 6 and Rules were notified on July 3. He pointed out that the portal demands key information such as the Waqf deed and the name and address of the wakif, details that are unavailable for properties created decades or a century ago. “People have been trying every day. The portal simply won’t upload without mandatory fields,” he told the Court.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi added that genuine technical issues made compliance within the current timeline unattainable.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, countered that Waqf registration has been compulsory since 1929 and that Section 3(B) already provides a remedy: Waqfs may approach the Tribunal and seek an extension on individual facts. He argued that the petitioners were effectively seeking to rewrite the statute. “There are no Waqf Boards before Your Lordships today, only individuals,” he submitted.
Sibal warned that the Tribunal route would force “lakhs of mutawallis” to file individual applications. He urged the Court to allow time for fixing portal glitches rather than sending every applicant to the Tribunal.
Justice Datta questioned how the Court could “rewrite the statute,” and suggested petitioners show evidence if the portal was not functioning.
The Bench also noted that while some applicants might have genuine difficulties, granting a blanket extension would benefit those who had simply not acted.
In its order, the Court observed that the proviso to Section 3B provides a clear remedy. It disposed of all applications, granting liberty to approach the Tribunal by the final date of the six-month statutory period.
When Sibal requested that applicants be permitted to return to the Supreme Court in case of difficulty, the Bench said, “We are not saying this in the order. You can always come.”
The matter now proceeds to the Tribunal for any extension requests.
On November 3, 2025, agreed to relist for hearing a plea filed by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi seeking an extension of time for the mandatory registration of all Waqf properties, including those categorised as ‘Waqf by user’, under the Centre’s UMEED portal. The matter was earlier scheduled for hearing on October 28 but could not be taken up.
Previously, Pasha had informed the Bench that while the amended law provided six months for mandatory registration, five of those months had already elapsed since the Supreme Court’s interim order in September, leaving just one month remaining.
Notably, on September 15, the Apex Court had refused to stay the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 in its entirety. "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.", CJI BR Gavai had observed. However, the CJI clarified that some provisions needed to be stayed till the relevant rules are framed by the Central government.
In May this year, the Supreme Court had reserved its order on interim relief in a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which, among other provisions, abolishes the concept of "waqf by user" and introduces sweeping changes to the registration and classification of waqf properties across India.
Case Title: In Re: The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025
Hearing Date: December 1, 2025
Bench: Justices Dipankar Datta & AG Masih