One more petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court challenging the composition of the Kerala State Waqf Board [Stalin VM alias Stalin Devan v State of Kerala & ors]..Specifically, the plea questions the continued membership of former CPI(M) MLA Kunhammed Kutty Master on the Board despite his losing the status of a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) following the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections. This violates the statutory scheme under the amended Waqf Act, the petitioner has contended.The public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed by retired Indian Army Force Junior Warrant officer and former Kerala government under secretary, Stalin VM.Two other petitions challenging the constitution of the State Waqf Board are already pending before the Court. One such petition was filed by the State Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shone George, while another was filed more recently by a Christian trust. The earlier two petitions primarily questioned the absence of mandatory non-Muslim members and the board's actions concerning the disputed Munambam land. .The latest plea has questioned how Kunhammed Kutty continues to be a member of the board, despite no longer being an MLA.CPI (M)'s Kunhammed Kutty was nominated to a seat reserved for an MLA, under Section 14 (1)(b)(ii) of the amended Waqf Act. The petitioner highlights that this was done barely two months before the expiry of Kunhammed Kutty's tenure as an MLA, with no certainty of his re-election.Moreover, even after he ceased to be an MLA following the elections, he has continued to function as a member of the board, thereby violating the amended Waqf Act, the petitioner has contended..The petitioner also claims to be actively involved in supporting residents and land owners in the Munambam land dispute. He has submitted that he filed the plea solely to ensure that the State Waqf Board is constituted strictly in accordance with law.According to the petition, the 2025 amendments to the Waqf Act altered the composition of the board by requiring the inclusion of two non-Muslim members, representation from different Muslim communities, a nominee from the State Bar Council and other specified categories of members.However, the board constituted in the State by a notification dated February 4, 2026, does not comply with these requirements and suffers from multiple defects, the plea says. The petitioner has raised concern that despite these statutory violations, the board continues to exercise its statutory powers, including making decisions concerning the disputed Munambam land."Since the respondent Board has been constituted in patent violation of the mandatory requirements governing its composition, it lacks jurisdiction to exercise the statutory powers vested in it. Consequently, every action, decision, proceeding and order issued by the Board is rendered vulnerable to challenge for want of jurisdiction and is liable to be declared void and unenforceable in law," the petition adds.The petitioner has thus sought directions to reconstitute the State Waqf Board, set aside all decisions taken so far by the board and to declare the former MLA's continued membership as illegal..The PIL has been filed through advocate Lakshmi Sreedhar.
