Munambam Land Dispute: Kerala Govt Prefers Appeal Against High Court Order Cancelling Appointment Of Inquiry Commission; Hearing On April 3

The Kerala government has preferred an appeal against High Court's March 17 order cancelling the appointment of an Inquiry Commission set up by the State to resolve the land dispute between residents of Munambam and the Waqf Board.

A single judge of the Court had allowed the plea filed by Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi, a registered society which works for protecting Waqf properties in the State, and had set aside the Commission stating that the matter was pending before the Waqf Tribunal.

In its appeal, the State has argued that even if for argument sake it is assumed that the concerned land is Waqf, it would not affect the power of the Government to consider ways and means to settle a dispute which has developed into a public protest, leading to a law-and-order problem.

The State emphasized that the Inquiry Commission is merely entrusted with collecting information and it has no power of adjudication of any questions of title or dispute. It submitted that the cause of action, if any, will arise only after the Government takes any decision on the recommendations of the Commission.

A division bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S. Manu has posted the matter for hearing on April 03.

Reportedly, the residents of Munambam have been protesting as they could not pay land tax, get mutation of properties from Kuzhupilly Village Office over claims that the properties have been registered as Waqf lands.

The residents claim that their predecessors have brought the property from Farook College. The main issue in the matter is whether Siddhique Sait, who gifted the property to Farook College in 1950 intended it to be a Waqf property or not.

An appeal is before the Waqf Tribunal Kozhikkode against enlisting the property as 'Waqf'. The residents of Munambam have filed a case before the High Court challenging the validity of the Waqf Act itself. Meanwhile, the State government by its November 27, 2024 notification had appointed the Inquiry Commission opining that the same was necessary "to find a permanent solution" with respect to the dispute.

It is the case of Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi however, that rights over the land have been crystallized through multiple rounds of litigation.

Case Title: State of Kerala v T. K. I. Ahamed Sherief and Others