Kerala High Court quashes State decision to form inquiry commission on Munambam Waqf land dispute

The Kerala High Court on Monday quashed the decision of the Kerala government to appoint an inquiry commission to examine the rights of around 600 families facing eviction after a property at Munambam was declared to be a waqf (an endowment made under Islamic law to be used for a charitable or religious purposes) [Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi & anr v State of Kerala & ors]..Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas allowed the petition filed by Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi and quashed the State's decision on the ground that a judicial body had already declared the land as Waqf property and an inquiry commission formed by State lacks authority to interfere with with settled judicial findings."The commission of enquiry has no power or adjudication on any question of title and is neither a judicial or quasi judicial enquiry. The terms of reference also do not enable the commission to decide the question whether the property is a waqf or not. Even otherwise the commission has no powers to enforce it's recommendations and it's report is not even binding on the government," the Court said.The Court also noted that the appeal against the classification of land as Waqf property is currently pending before Waqf tribunal and any observation by the inquiry commission could have repercussions on the proceedings before the tribunal."Nevertheless as the commission is composed of a former judge of this court, any observation by the commission in respect of the matter i.e. pending before the waqf tribunal can have repercussion. The findings of the commission may have a propensity to prejudice the rights of the contesting parties before the said tribunal. Even an observation regarding the nature of occupation of the persons in possession, the character of their occupation including that of the property, even indirectly can have tendency to impede the fair consideration of the questions before the tribunal," the Court said while quashing the State decision to constitute the inquiry commission. .The dispute concerns land in Munambam, which originally measured 404.76 acres but has been reduced to around 135.11 acres due to sea erosion.In 1950, the land was gifted to the Farook College by one, Siddique Sait. However, the land was already home to several people, who continued occupying the land, leading to legal battles between the college and the long-time occupants.Later, the college sold portions of the land to these occupants. These land sales failed to mention that the property was waqf land.In 2019, the Kerala Waqf Board formally registered the land as waqf property, making the earlier sales void. This triggered opposition from residents, who faced eviction.An appeal challenging the State Waqf Board's decision to classify the Munambam land as a waqf was filed before a waqf tribunal in Kozhikode.Meanwhile, in response to growing protests from around 600 families, the Kerala government appointed an inquiry commission in November 2024, led by former High Court judge, Justice CN Ramachandran Nair, to recommend solutions.This came to be challenged before the High Court by way of the present petitions.During the hearing of the case before the High Court on February 3, the State, represented by Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup, defended the commission's formation by arguing that it is only a fact finding body. "The judicial commission of inquiry is just a fact finding commission to bring light on the issues faced by the people on the Munambam land dispute and inform the government about the same," he said. .On the other hand, the petitioners argued that the inquiry commission was an attempt by the State to help encroachers under the pretext of ensuring their rights.The petitioners, represented by advocates TU Ziyad and PK Ibrahim, highlighted that the notification preemptively classified the occupants as bonafide occupants, even though courts had already recognised the property as waqf land.They added that the government's reasoning for interfering in the matter - that residents were unable to pay property tax due to the waqf board's registration of the land - was flawed..During the hearing, the Court observed that only the tribunal can now settle the conflicting claims over the nature of the Munambam land."Commission cannot come to a conclusion that it’s a gift deed or waqf deed. Even I will not pass such an order. It’s not proper for any (other) authority—it’s for the tribunal to decide when it’s pending before it," Justice Thomas had observed.He also expressed doubts over whether the commission's formation was legally sustainable."Acquisition of land for the purpose of protecting the rights of the trespassers by the government will have far-reaching consequences. No where would there have been a Judicial commission set up to determine the private rights of the so called bonafide occupants as mentioned in the government order, which is yet be decided," Justice Thomas had remarked during the hearing on February 3. .The petitioners were represented by advocates TU Ziyad, P Chandrasekhar and Anoop KrishnaAdvocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup appeared for the state.Standing counsel for Kerala State Waqf Board, advocate Jamshed Hafiz also appeared.Senior counsel George Poonthottam, instructed by advocate Nisha George had also appeared for one of the residents impleaded into the petition..[Read Judgement].[Read Live Coverage]