Centre notifies Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025

The Centre has notified the ‘Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025’ even as petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 remains pending before the Supreme Court.

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The Waqf Amendment Act 2025 had already been notified on April 8, 2025. The Supreme Court is expected to pronounce its verdict on petitions challenging the validity of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 later this month. While reserving its verdict on May 22, a Bench led by CJI BR Gavai had said that there’s a presumption of constitutionality in favour of a law passed by Parliament.

Under the amended Act, only self-owned resources can be declared as Waqf after ensuring the inheritance rights of women and children and the Divisional Commissioner will determine that land being donated by a Muslim is actually in his ownership. It also empowers state governments to nominate members, including representatives from backward classes and both Shia and Sunni communities to Waqf boards.

Now, these rules framed under Section 108B of the Act and notified on July 3 will deal with portal and database of waqf properties; the manner of their registration and conduct of audit and maintenance of accounts in order to streamline waqf administration across India.

Section 108B authorises the Centre to make rules to provide for the waqf asset management system, registration, accounts, audit and other details of waqf and the manner of payments for maintenance of widow, divorced woman and orphans.

A waqf created after coming into force of the 2025 amendment is required to make an application to the Board for registration within three months of its creation.

The rules also deal with the portal and database for Waqf properties which will be supervised by a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Minority Affairs in charge of the waqf division.

The portal and database will auto-generate a unique identification number for each waqf and each property dedicated to the waqf which can be used for all future references and to ensure monitoring of waqfs and their properties.

Every state has to appoint an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary as a Nodal Officer and shall establish a centralised support unit, in consultation with the Centre for providing assistance in streamlining uploading details of waqf and properties thereof, registration, maintenance of accounts, audit and other related activities of the waqf and the Board.

Under the new Rules, every ‘mutawalli’ has to mandatorily enrol on the portal and database by using his mobile number and e-mail address through authentication by one-time password received from the portal on the mobile and email. Only after such authentication, a ‘mutawalli’ can access the portal and database and file details of his waqf and property dedicated to the waqf.

Any inquiry into wrongful declaration of a property as ‘waqf’ must be completed by the designated officer within a year of the reference from the District Collector.

On completion of survey, the state government has to publish the list of auqaf containing details such as the identification, boundaries of waqf properties; their use and occupier; details of the creator, mode and date of such creation; purpose of waqf and their present ‘mutawalli’ and management. The state government is obliged to upload the notified list of auqaf and the details of each waqf on the portal and database, within 90 days from such publication in the Official Gazette.