Little ‘UMEED’ from Waqf registration portal, need for Muslim community to wake up

Little ‘UMEED’ from Waqf registration portal, need for Muslim community to wake up

Khurshid Ahmed Siddiqui

Dehradun, Oct 14

The Uttarakhand Waqf Board has set October 30, 2025 as the last date for registering Waqf properties on the government-run UMEED Portal. Subsequently, the last date for verifying those details on the National Waqf Portal is December 5, 2025. There are reportedly approximately 5,388 Waqf properties in Uttarakhand, of which only 200 had been registered until a few days ago. Now, the remaining thousands of properties must be registered within just 18 days, or serious legal consequences could arise.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has filed an application in the Supreme Court, seeking extension of the December 5 deadline for the registration of Waqf properties on Umeed portal, along with making the process simpler and more user-friendly. The date of hearing is October 28, 2025.

The stakeholders had earlier requested the government to extend it by at least two years as documents of most of the Waqf properties are yet to be digitised. Currently, there are around 1.26 lakh registered Waqf properties in UP and more than 5000 properties in Uttarakhand.

There are technical problems in Central government’s ambitious “UMMEED” portal, launched to digitize and register all Waqf properties across India.  Most of the wakf boards in different states have claimed that the portal is riddled with critical flaws that make data entry virtually impossible.

Under the Waqf Act, 1995, it is the legal responsibility of the Mutawalli to register and periodically update every Waqf property.  The government has created the “UMEED Portal” to ensure that all Waqf properties are secure, transparent, and digitally verified.

If a Mutawalli fails to timely submit details of his property on the UMEED portal, it will be considered a violation of the Waqf Act.  In such a situation, the Waqf Board or administrative body may take legal action against the Mutawalli.

According to the provisions of the Waqf Act, imprisonment of up to six months, and/or a fine of up to ₹20,000 can be imposed. This penalty will apply directly to the Mutawalli (caretaker).

If registration is not completed by the deadline, the property in question will lose its recognition as a Waqf property.  That is, its legal status as a “Waqf Property” will be terminated, and the property may be removed from the official records of the Waqf Board.

If a property’s Waqf status is terminated, its re-registration will only be possible upon an order of the Waqf Tribunal.  For this, the relevant Mutawalli must file a petition with the Tribunal and prove that the property is indeed Waqf property.

Every Mutawalli and Board member should step forward to register and certify their properties on the UMEED portal. This is not just a time for action, but a time for responsibility and accountability. When the community will wake up to save the wakf properties for future generations ?

( The writer is a social worker of Dehradun )