Persistent Technical Glitches : UP State Waqf Tribunal Grants 6-Month Extension To Register Waqf Properties On UMEED Portal

In a respite to the administration of thousands of Waqf properties across Uttar Pradesh, the UP State Waqf Tribunal has granted a six-month extension for registration on the UMEED Central Portal on the petition filed by the UP Sunni Waqf Board. The deadline for the online registration has now been extended till June 5 2026. The order, pronounced today, takes note of the "persistent technical glitches" and server instability that made compliance with the December 6 deadline 'impossible' for many stakeholders. The Tribunal's Bench, comprising Chairman Prahlad Singh-II and Member Ram Suresh Verma, allowed the application moved by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, extending the deadline from December 6, 2025 to June 5, 2026. This decision effectively invokes the proviso to Section 3B(1) of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Act, 1995 (as amended in 2025). As per the media reports, around 40,000 waqf in UP are yet to be registered after the last date expired on December 5. There are around 1.26 lakh waqf properties in UP of which 86,000 have been uploaded on the UMEED portal so far. For context, as per the newly inserted Section 3B of 2025 Act, it is mandatory for every waqf to file the details of the waqf and the property dedicated to the waqf on the portal and database within a period of 6 months from the date of its commencement and the last date for filing the details on the portal and database is expired on December 6. Before the tribunal, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, represented by counsels Syed Aftab Ahmad and Mohd. Tariq Saeed, claimed that it is consistently attempting to upload the requisite details on the official UMEED Portal, however, the portal has remained non-functional most of the time, thereby preventing completion of the process. It was also apprised to the tribunal that there exist thousands of Waqfs in which no Mutawalli or Managing Committee is presently functioning and the applicant does not possess complete information regarding their current status, verification and inspection of such properties require additional time. Therefore, it was contended that Sunni Waqf Board needs further opportunity to collect necessary details and thereafter upload them as 'Maker' on the Portal. In its 9 page order, the Tribunal noted that the process, which involves a 3-tier verification system by a 'Maker' (Mutawalli), 'Checker' (Board) and 'Approver', was crippled by technical snags. The order also takes into account the follow issues faced by the Board that constituted "sufficient cause" for the delay: The board and their Mutawallis faced numerous technical issues in the uploading process, such as Frequent server breakdowns, login failures at the Checker and Approver stagesDelay or non-receipt of OTP, session/webpage getting timed out after 20 minutes of login by a makeNonavailability of provision/option for saving the uploaded data etc., in the process of the updating of the data and details of the waqf properties The Board submitted that these issues were only partially addressed by October 2025, leaving an insufficient window to process the "extremely large volume" of properties in Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest number of Auqaf in the country. Taking into account these issues, the Bench found substances in the petition as it observed thus: "…it appears that the issues which have come in the way of the process of uploading the data and details of the waqf properties were beyond the control of the stakeholders. So, they are considered as sufficient causes for causing the impediment in the process of completion of updation within the initial six months". The Tribunal also referred to Supreme Court's December 1 order providing that the remedy for seeking an extension lay before the Waqf Tribunal under the statutory proviso of Section 3B.For context, this provision provides that the tribunal may extend such initial period for six months on the application of Mutawalli on the ground of sufficient cause.Thus, the application filed by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board was ALLOWED. Consequently, six months were granted for the completion of the process of uploading the details of Waqf and their properties situated within the territory of UP on the UMEED Portal.Click here to read/download the Order

Persistent Technical Glitches : UP State Waqf Tribunal Grants 6-Month Extension To Register Waqf Properties On UMEED Portal

Sparsh Upadhyay

Tags