Munambam land dispute: Kerala HC upholds state's decision on formation of inquiry panel, junks single bench verdict

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday upheld the state government’s decision to constitute an inquiry commission to resolve the ongoing land dispute between Munambam residents and the Waqf Board.

A division bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar VM delivered the verdict, allowing two writ appeals filed by the state government against a single bench order of March 17 by Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, which had quashed the appointment of the commission. The single bench annulled the government's order on the inquiry commission formation while considering a plea moved by the Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi. The petitioner argued that the rights over the land had been crystallised through multiple rounds of litigation. 

Following this, the Kerala government filed two writ appeals in the High Court challenging the single bench order.

In its appeal, the government contended that even if the land in question is classified as Waqf, it would not hinder its authority to explore ways to settle the dispute, which has escalated into public protests and posed law-and-order challenges.

It was on November 27, 2024, that the government notified the formation of the commission under retired Justice CN Ramachandran Nair to find a permanent solution to the dispute over ownership between the Munambam residents and the Waqf Board. The government’s notification tasked the commission with inquiring into the issue and recommending measures to safeguard the rights and interests of bona fide occupants of the land.

The state government’s November 27, 2024 notification emphasised that the inquiry commission is necessary to find a permanent solution to the ongoing land dispute.

The state clarified to the court that the Inquiry Commission is limited to fact-finding and does not have the power to adjudicate on title or ownership disputes. Any legal cause of action, the government argued, would arise only after it takes decisions based on the commission’s recommendations.

Reports indicate that over 6,000 families in Munambam have been protesting due to difficulties in paying land tax and obtaining property mutations from the Kuzhupilly Village Office, amid claims that the properties are registered as Waqf lands.

The residents maintain that their predecessors purchased the land from Farook College. The central issue is whether Siddhique Sait, who gifted the property to Farook College in 1950, intended it to be Waqf. An appeal challenging the registration of the property as Waqf is pending before the Waqf Tribunal, Kozhikode. Additionally, Munambam residents have filed a case in the High Court questioning the validity of the Waqf Act itself.

(With inputs from Live Law and Bar & Bench)