The uploading period should be extended by at least one year, delegation demands

A delegation of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board met with Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju today. The delegation also presented a memorandum to the minister based on several demands.

According to a release, the delegation mentioned in detail the difficulties and technical issues faced while uploading waqf properties registered on the Waqf portal, resulting in lakhs of properties not being registered. The delegation said that the responsibility of uploading properties already registered with the Waqf Board should have been with the Waqf Boards and at least two years' time should have been given for this. Therefore, our demand is that the uploading period for properties that could not be registered should be extended by at least one year.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board delegation told the minister that the amendment to the Waqf Act/Hope Act and making it mandatory to upload details on the Hope portal according to Section 3B has put the entire Muslim community under severe pressure and difficulties. Firstly, they want to say that the six-month period for uploading all registered Waqf properties was too short.

Secondly, several technical issues and glitches were faced while uploading on the portal. Therefore, it was extremely difficult and impossible to upload all properties. Hence, the Punjab Waqf Board, Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board, Gujarat Waqf Board, and Rajasthan Waqf Board have so far approached the Tribunal for an extension of time and the Tribunal has extended the time. This clearly shows that it was also difficult for the Waqf Board to comply with the six-month timeline and they had to request an extension. Therefore, the request is to give one more year for uploading considering the difficulties of the mutawallis.

The delegation further said that there is a difference between the period mentioned in the law and the period after the portal was launched. Moreover, the Hope rules were informed only on 03/07/2025, and the necessary procedure and details for uploading were told on 03/07/2025. It is also necessary to mention that the declaration form by the mutawalli and the Chief Executive Officer of the Waqf Board was informed for the first time by the Hope rules on 03/07/2025. Therefore, the date of the launch of the portal, i.e., 06/06/2025, which is not the date mentioned in the Act for the commencement of the Act, cannot be taken as the date of commencement of the Act.

Based on the above issues and difficulties, we request that the initial six-month period as given in the Act should be extended by at least one year and then if needed, the concerned applicant can approach the Tribunal for further extension.

The delegation further said that certainly, we are all trying to complete the uploading process on the portal with sincerity and honesty, we are confident that if the initial period is extended by one year, then there will be no need to go to the Tribunal for further extension and such a need can arise only in exceptional cases.

Finally, we also consider it appropriate to mention that the Waqf Act/Hope Act, 1995, and its Section 113 provide the Central Government with the power to also issue orders to remove difficulties in enforcing the provisions of the Waqf Act/Hope Act, 1995.

The minister listened to the delegation's words with great seriousness and promised to find a solution to these problems soon.

The delegation included the board's vice president, Syed Saadatullah Husaini, General Secretary Maulana Muhammad Fazlur Rehman Mujaddidi, Executive Member and Member of Parliament Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi, Muhammad Adeeb (former MP) Member Board, General Secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Maulana Muhammad Hakeemuddin Qasmi, General Secretary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, Delhi Mufti Abdul Razzaq, members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Fazil Ahmed Ayyubi Advocate, Hakeem Muhammad Tahir Advocate, and Ms. Nabila Jameel Advocate.