Christian trust moves Kerala HC against Waqf Board composition, uploading Munambam land details on UMEED portal

A Christian public charitable trust, Assembly of Christian Trust Services (ACTS), has moved the Kerala High Court challenging the constitution of the State Waqf Board and its decision to upload the details of heavily disputed land in Munambam to the UMEED Portal [Assembly of Christian Trust Services v. Union of India & Ors.].The public interest litigation (PIL) petition moved by ACTS contends that the Waqf Board has not been constituted as per statutory requirements. As claimed in a similar petition filed by State Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Shone George, ACTS has argued that the State government has not appointed two non-Muslim members to the Board as is statutorily required following the 2025 Waqf Amendment Act.The Amendment Act, which came into force on April 8 last year, introduced a mandatory requirement under Section 14(1) to include at least two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board, excluding ex-officio members.While considering challenges to the 2025 Amendment Act, the Supreme Court did not stay the operation of this requirement, but it imposed an upper limit of three non-Muslim members on State Waqf Boards..According to the PIL filed by ACTS, the Kerala government has deliberately flouted this statutory condition by nominating a Board consisting of only Muslims. This makes the functioning of the Board unconstitutional and renders all of its administrative, supervisory and quasi-judicial decisions null and void, ACTS contends.The Trust has also challenged the nomination of the presently serving members of the State Waqf Board on various grounds. It further pointed out that there are no members from the Shia, Bohra or Aghkhani communities and no eminent scholar of Islamic theology in the present Board.The PIL also points out that as per Section 3B of the Waqf Act, every waqf registered under the Act prior to the commencement of the 2025 Waqf Amendment Act must file the details of the waqf and the property dedicated to the waqf on the UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development) portal, within a period of six months. The Act and Rules also make it the sole duty of the Muttawali of a waqf to file details on the portal, ACTS has contended. However, in this case, the improperly constituted Waqf Board took over the task and and uploaded the details of properties of around 404 acres of coastal land in the Munambam Village, the PIL claims. This is a highly disputed area where over 600 predominantly Latin Catholic Christian and Hindu families reside. These families would be displaced by the declaration of the land as waqf. ACTS has contended that an improperly constituted Board will not be able to give an impartial decision on such a matter. .The Trust has sought orders to direct the State government to issue a fresh notification nominating new members to the Waqf Board in accordance with statutory requirements, within a timeframe fixed by the Court. It has also sought a declaration that the Board's upload of details of the Munambam land to the UMEED portal is void in law. As an interim measure, ACTS has sought an order suspending the functioning of the State Waqf Board until all its members are nominated or appointed in accordance with Section 14 of the 2025 Waqf Amendment Act..The plea was filed through advocate Joseph Joy.