The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government suffered a setback on Monday as the Kerala High Court set aside its appointment of an Inquiry Commission to resolve a dispute between Munambam residents and the Waqf Board.
A single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas ruled that the order appointing the commission must be quashed, as the case is still pending before the Waqf Tribunal.
"Since the issue is under consideration by the Waqf Tribunal, even if the dispute causes public order concerns, the Commission of Inquiry Act cannot be invoked at this stage. The government failed to consider relevant facts while appointing the commission, making the order legally unsound," the court stated.
The court further observed that the government had disregarded crucial aspects, including the Waqf Board’s findings, provisions of the Waqf Act, a previous Inquiry Commission report, and a 2022 High Court judgment.
The petition challenging the commission’s appointment was filed by the Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi. The commission, headed by former High Court judge Justice CN Ramachandran Nair, was tasked with finding a permanent resolution to the dispute.
Reacting to the ruling, Justice Nair said he had no comments and that it was for the state government to respond.
Meanwhile, sources indicate that the Kerala government is likely to appeal the verdict before a division bench.
The dispute revolves around Munambam residents' inability to pay land tax or transfer property ownership due to claims that their lands are registered as Waqf properties. The residents argue that their ancestors purchased the land from Farook College, and the central issue in the case is whether Siddhique Sait, who donated the property to the college in 1950, intended it to be a Waqf property.