Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

A 1995 law just got a new name: UMEED, meaning “expectations.” Months later, the Supreme Court paused some of its most contested provisions. This lesson covers the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, and the ongoing legal fight over it.

1Chapter 1: The Act and Its New Name

Must Know

From Bill to law

• UMEED stands for Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development.
• “UMEED” means “expectations.” It is a deliberate naming choice, framing the reform as better governance and transparency.
• The Act passed Lok Sabha 288-232 and Rajya Sabha 128-95, after the JPC reviewed the 2024 bill.

2Chapter 2: What Is a Waqf?

Good to Know

The idea

• A waqf is a permanent religious or charitable gift under Islamic law.
• Once someone dedicates property this way, it can never be sold or taken back.

How old is it?

• India’s earliest documented waqf goes back to 1185 CE.
• Sultan Muhammad Ghori donated two villages to the Jama Masjid of Multan.
• Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, a shrine completed in 1325, is still Delhi Waqf Board property.
• So the same basic idea has run for about seven centuries.

Scale

• Official government data puts registered waqf land at 8,72,328 properties, covering about 38.16 lakh acres, across 32 state boards. (Source: PIB.)

3Chapter 3: The Disputed Provisions

Must Know

Three provisions draw most fire

• A requirement of 5 years of demonstrable Islamic practice to create a waqf.
• Adding non-Muslim members to Waqf Councils and Boards.
• Allowing properties long declared “waqf by user” to be denotified.

Other changes

• The Central Waqf Council must now include 2 women members and 2 non-Muslim members.
• The Act introduces new definitions for “Aghakhani waqf” and “Bohra waqf”, recognising community-dedicated waqfs.

Why “waqf by user” matters

• It covers properties treated as waqf for generations through long religious use, not formal deeds.
• Removing that recognition can unsettle established religious sites.
• This sits at the meeting point of religious property administration and state regulatory power.
• Read more: Article 26: Freedom to Manage Religious Affairs, Article 29 and Right to Property: Article 300A.

4Chapter 4: In Parliament and in Court

Current Affairs

On the floor

• On 2 April 2025, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi tore up a copy of the bill in the Lok Sabha.
• He said: “Like Gandhi, I am also tearing up this law. This is unconstitutional.”
• Home Minister Amit Shah replied that the opposition was trying to scare people. (Source: India TV News.)
• Opposition members walked out of the Rajya Sabha vote too.
• Their complaint: their dissent notes were left out of the JPC’s final report.

The Supreme Court’s interim order

• On 15 September 2025, the Supreme Court stayed key provisions.
• One of them let an officer’s report decide whether a property counts as waqf.
• It refused to stay the Act as a whole.
• Nearly 72 petitions challenged the Act. Petitioners included AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, AIMPLB, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, DMK and Congress MPs.
• The case has sat at this interim stage for nearly a year.
• The Court’s approach is a common one: pause the most legally shaky parts pending full hearing, without blocking the entire reform.

5Chapter 5: First Tests on the Ground

Current Affairs

Kerala

• On 15 July 2026, the Kerala High Court found that the state Waqf Board’s makeup broke the Act’s Section 14 rule.
• It lacked the two mandatory non-Muslim members, and had inadequate Shia representation.
• The High Court restrained the Board from major policy and capital decisions. It put the Board under a government official’s supervision.
• On appeal, the Supreme Court removed the official-supervision part on 21 July 2026. It kept the restraint on major decisions. (Source: LiveLaw.)
• It sent the matter back to Kerala High Court for an expedited final hearing. (Source: Bar and Bench.)
• This is the first real test of the non-Muslim-members rule on the ground.

Uttar Pradesh

• Under the Act’s registration mandate, UP’s Sunni and Shia Waqf Boards had rejected 29,747 and 2,059 registrations as of 7 June 2026.
• Roughly 118,302 properties had been uploaded to the UMEED portal in total.
• Most rejections came from mismatches with revenue records, like khasra numbers and land area.
• Rejected properties now go to the Waqf Tribunal for a final decision. (Source: ETV Bharat.)

The records gap

• The UMEED portal shows only around 5.17 lakh properties so far.
• Roughly 3.55 lakh properties are unaccounted for. (Source: Kashmir Times.)
• Critics of the old system say patchy record-keeping is what the reform should fix.
• Critics of the reform fear the gap will be used against genuine waqfs.
• The final outcome depends on the Supreme Court’s full hearing.
• Read more: Uniform Civil Code: The Uttarakhand Model.

Quick Q&A

• Assent date? 5 April 2025.
• LS vote? 288-232.
• Petitions challenging? About 72.
• SC interim stay? 15 September 2025.
• Earliest documented waqf? 1185 CE.