Waqf UMEED portal: Centre waives penalties for delayed registration for three months

New Delhi: The Central government, as announced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday, will not impose penalties or strict action for delayed registration of Waqf properties on the UMEED portal for three months beyond the December 5 deadline.

Rijiju stated the decision follows requests from Members of Parliament and community representatives, citing difficulties faced by mutawallis, custodians of Waqf properties, in completing registrations. However, he clarified that while requests for deadline extension were made to the Supreme Court, the court declined to extend beyond the six-month window provided by law.

Rijiju noted that since the UMEED portal launch, over 1.5 lakh out of nearly nine lakh Waqf properties have been registered, with Karnataka leading at about 50,000 registrations. States such as Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir performed satisfactorily, while several larger states faced technical or administrative delays.

He assured that no immediate penalties would be levied during the three-month extension period and encouraged any remaining registrants to seek Tribunal assistance if needed.

Rijiju emphasised the government’s obligation to abide by legal constraints post the parliamentary amendment, stating the government cannot unilaterally alter deadlines but encourages transparent, accountable management of Waqf assets for welfare purposes, notably benefiting economically weaker sections.

The Supreme Court on December 1 dismissed petitions seeking a blanket extension, directing reliance on Section 3B of the amended Waqf Act that allows seeking time from the Tribunal.

Petitioners’ representatives argued that six months was insufficient given the portal’s June 6 launch and July 3 notification of rules, despite the April 8 amendment effective date.

With inputs from IANS