A ticking clock now hangs over thousands of Waqf properties across India. Senior Advocate M. Nizam Pasha, representing petitioner AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, told the Supreme Court of India on Thursday, 15 October 2026 that continued inaction on the Waqf Amendment Act challenge is no longer a procedural inconvenience — it is causing real, irreversible damage on the ground.

The Limitation Act threat to Waqf lands

At the heart of Pasha's urgent plea is a cascading legal risk: if the Waqf (Amendment) Act keeps operating without a final hearing, the Limitation Act could kick in and permanently extinguish claims over properties that have not been formally defined within the prescribed period. 'Waqf properties, if they are not defined within that period, would be affected immediately,' Pasha told the bench, in words that cut to the chase.

The concern is not hypothetical. Waqf endowments in India hold some of the largest non-government landholdings in the country, accumulated over centuries of Islamic charitable grants. A Limitation Act deadline does not pause for pending litigation — it runs regardless.

Waqf-by-user: the quieter casualty

Pasha flagged a second, less-discussed category under pressure: Waqf-by-user properties — mosques, graveyards, and shrines that derive their protected status from long, uninterrupted religious use rather than a formal deed. These properties are especially vulnerable because their very identity rests on custom and continuity, not paperwork. Any disruption to their recognised status during a prolonged legal limbo could invite encroachment challenges that would be difficult to reverse.

An interim order, and a year-and-a-half of waiting

The Supreme Court had passed an interim order roughly one-and-a-half years ago to preserve the status quo while the petitions were being heard. But no substantive hearing has followed. Pasha's message to the bench was pointed in its restraint: 'I only request a date.' The court responded by scheduling the matter for 4 November 2026 — a date petitioners will now watch closely for directions on both the Limitation Act applicability and the fate of Waqf-by-user designations.

The Waqf Act, 1995 created the statutory framework — Waqf boards, property protections, a central registry — that subsequent amendments have sought to reshape. Critics of the amendment, including Owaisi, have argued it undermines those protections; the government has maintained it brings accountability and modernisation. That fundamental disagreement now waits for its day in court.

November 4 is not just another listing date. It may determine whether properties that have been held in religious trust for generations remain protected — or fall through a procedural gap that litigation left open too long.