A Delegation of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board Meets Minister of Minority Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju

New Delhi, 11 December 2025 (Press Release) A representative delegation of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board met today with the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju. The delegation also presented a memorandum containing several demands.

In the meeting, the delegation explained in detail the difficulties and technical issues encountered while uploading registered waqf properties on the UMEED Portal, due to which lakhs of properties could not be registered. The delegation pointed out that the responsibility of uploading properties already registered with the Waqf Boards should have rested with the Waqf Boards themselves, and at least two years should have been given for this task. Therefore, we request that the deadline for uploading the properties that remain unregistered be extended by at least one year.

The delegation informed the Minister that amendments to the Waqf Act/UMEED Act and the mandatory requirement to upload details on the UMEED Portal under Section 3B have placed the entire Muslim community under severe pressure and hardship. Firstly, the six-month time limit prescribed for uploading all registered waqf properties was extremely short.

Secondly, many technical problems and glitches were faced while uploading details on the portal. Therefore, uploading all properties became extremely difficult and practically impossible. Consequently, the Punjab Waqf Board, Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board, Gujarat Waqf Board, and Rajasthan Waqf Board approached the Tribunal seeking extension of time, and the Tribunal granted these extensions. This clearly shows that even the Waqf Boards were unable to comply with the six-month timeline and had to request more time. Hence, the delegation requested that, considering the difficulties faced by mutawallis, the deadline for uploading be extended by another year.

The delegation further said that there is also a discrepancy between the time mentioned in the Act and the time calculated from the date on which the portal was launched. Moreover, the UMEED Rules were notified only on 03/07/2025, and it was on this date that the required procedures and details for uploading were communicated. It is also important to note that the declaration forms to be submitted by the mutawallis and the Chief Executive Officers of the Waqf Boards were notified for the first time on 03/07/2025 through the UMEED Rules. Therefore, the date of launching the portal—06/06/2025—cannot be treated as the date of commencement of the Act, as this is not the date specified in the Act.

In view of the above challenges and difficulties, we request that the initial six-month period mentioned in the Act be extended by at least one more year, after which, if required, applicants may approach the Tribunal for further extension.

The delegation added that all of us are sincerely and diligently trying to complete the uploading process on the portal, and we firmly believe that if a one-year extension is granted for the initial period, there will be no need for anyone to approach the Tribunal again for further extension, except in extraordinary circumstances.

Lastly, we consider it appropriate to remind that the Waqf Act/UMEED Act, 1995, and its Section 113 empower the Central Government to issue orders to remove difficulties that may arise in implementing the provisions of the Act.

The Minister listened to the delegation with great seriousness and attention and assured them that he would very soon find solutions to these issues and difficulties.

The delegation included:

Vice President of the Board, Mr. Syed Sadatullah Husaini;

General Secretary Maulana Mohammed Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi;

Executive Member and Member of Parliament Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi;

Mr. Mohammad Adeeb (former MP);

General Secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Maulana Muhammad Hakimuddin Qasmi;

General Secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (Delhi) Mufti Abdur Raziq;

Board Members Mr. Mr. Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi Advocate, Mr. Hakeem Muhammad Tahir, Advocate, and Ms. Nabila Jamil, Advocate.