NEW DELHI: Even as petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 are pending before the Supreme Court, the Centre notified the “Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025”, dealing with the portal and database of waqf properties.
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Act.
According to the new rules, to ensure tracking and monitoring of waqf properties of all states, a centralised portal and database will be set up. It will be supervised by a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs in charge of the waqf division.
The portal will automatically generate unique identification numbers for each waqf and its associated properties.
All states have to appoint an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary as a nodal officer and set up a centralised support unit, in consultation with the Centre for streamlining uploading details of waqf and properties. This will ensure smooth registration, maintenance of accounts, audit and other related activities of the waqf and the Board.
The rules have been framed under Section 108B of the 1995 Act, which was inserted as per the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. The Act came into effect from April 8, 2025. The rules also deal with provisions of maintenance to widows, divorced women or orphans.
The new rules say that the ‘mutawalli’ has to mandatorily enroll on the portal and database by using his mobile number and e-mail id through authentication by one-time password. The ‘mutawalli’ can file details of his property dedicated to the waqf only after registering with the portal.
According to the rules, any inquiry into wrongful declaration of a property as waqf must be completed by the designated officer within a year of reference from the District Collector.