Waqf Act Impact? Kerala High Court Stays Decision To Scrap Commission Probing Eviction Threat Over Munambam Land Dispute

The Kerala High Court on Monday (7 April) stayed a single judge’s order that had quashed the State government’s appointment of a commission led by former High Court judge Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, set up to examine the rights of nearly 600 families facing eviction after land at Munambam was declared waqf property.

Bar&Bench reported that a division bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S Manu passed the order while admitting an appeal filed by the State government against the 17 March ruling of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas.

"The appeals are admitted. List the appeals for hearing on the daily board from 16 June 2025. During the pendency of these appeals, the operation and implementation of the judgment dated 17 March 2025 is stayed. The report submitted by the Commission will not be acted upon by the State government without seeking leave of this court in view of these appeals," the court stated.

The land in question, originally measuring 404.76 acres, has been reduced to 135.11 acres due to sea erosion. In 1950, it was gifted to Farook College by one Siddique Sait.

Despite being inhabited, parts of the land were later sold to occupants. However, in 2019, the Kerala Waqf Board registered the property as waqf land, invalidating the earlier sales and triggering fears of eviction.

In response to protests, the state had appointed the Commission in November 2024.

This was challenged by the Waqf Samrakshana Samithi, arguing that the government had no authority to examine waqf properties outside the Waqf Act. Justice Thomas had agreed, stating the Commission lacked legal authority.

The state, in its appeal, argued that the petitioners lacked locus standi and that the decision failed to appreciate legal and factual complexities.

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