Kerala HC slams Waqf Board over Munambam land claim, calls it ‘land-grabbing tactic’

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In a sharp rebuke to the Kerala Waqf Board (KWB), the state High Court termed its attempt to declare the disputed 365-acre land in Munambam as a waqf property a “land-grabbing tactic,” while allowing a state-appointed inquiry into the 75-year-old dispute. 

On October10,  Friday, the Division Bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and Syam Kumar VM said the Waqf Board’s 2019 declaration classifying the land as waqf was “bad in law” and “palpably violative” of multiple Waqf Acts.

“The action of the KWB of declaring/ registering the subject property as a waqf property through its declarations and orders issued in September and October 2019 are bad in law on the grounds of being unreasonably delayed and having been issued in palpable violation of the provisions of the Waqf Acts 1954, 1984, and 1995 and resultantly non-enforceable,” the Bench observed.

Though the court refrained from formally quashing the 2019 orders, it made clear that “the State Government is not bound by such a highly belatedly issued declaration by the KWB after 7 decades (69 years).”

The Bench said the 1950 endowment deed, under which one Siddhique Sait gifted the land to Farook College, “never intended to create any permanent dedication in favour of the Almighty God”, but was merely a “gift deed in favour of R5 Farooq Management”, which could never qualify as a waqf deed under any version of the Waqf Act.

“The manner in which the KWB has acted is nothing more than land-grabbing tactics after almost 7 decades, affecting fundamental rights, and the livelihood of hundreds of helpless citizens,” the judgment said, noting that residents were forced to protest and the state government to intervene.

The court further slammed the Board for its “reckless disregard” of the law and citizens’ rights, describing its conduct as an attempt to “paint the subject property as a waqf property” through an “eye wash” declaration.

Affirming the state government’s authority to set up a commission under Section 97 of the Waqf Act, the Bench upheld the validity of the inquiry commission headed by retired Justice CN Ramachandran Nair, which was constituted in November 2024 “to find a permanent solution” for hundreds of bona fide occupants and third-party purchasers.

The High Court also took note that the petitioners who had challenged the commission — the Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi and others — were not directly affected parties.

“They slept till 2019 while third-party rights were being created,” the court observed, questioning their locus standi and suggesting they were acting on behalf of “certain other interested parties with ulterior purposes.”

By overturning the single-judge order that had quashed the commission’s appointment, the Division Bench has cleared the path for the state inquiry to continue, potentially paving the way for a lasting resolution to the decades-old Munambam land dispute.

The dispute dates back to 1950, when over 400 acres of land were gifted to Farook College. Over the years, parts of it were sold to long-time residents. In 2019, the Waqf Board declared the land as waqf and sought to cancel those sales.

Presently, the landmass has shrunk to about 135 acres due to sea erosion. And the dispute continues to affect hundreds of residents who depend on it for their livelihood.