Legal battle intensifies over non-Muslim members' inclusion in Kerala Waqf Board, SC & HC to consider cases
A legal battle over non-Muslim members on Kerala's Waqf Board has reached the Supreme Court. The High Court halted policy decisions, prompting a challenge against this interim order.
A legal battle over non-Muslim members on Kerala's Waqf Board has reached the Supreme Court. The High Court halted policy decisions, prompting a challenge against this interim order.
A legal battle over non-Muslim members on Kerala's Waqf Board has reached the Supreme Court. The High Court halted policy decisions, prompting a challenge against this interim order.
The legal and political battle over the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Kerala State Waqf Board has intensified with the Assembly of Christian trust services impleading in the petition filed by the State Waqf Board in the Supreme Court against the interim order issued by the Kerala High Court.
The HC, in an interim order issued on July 15, directed that the present Board shall not take any policy decision or incur any capital expenditure without the express leave of the Court. It was also ordered that the state must ensure that the representative of the Government is appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Act of 1995. The State Waqf Board moved the SC, challenging the HC's interim order. Following the interim order, the Revenue Department has already issued orders, accordingly.
In the Special Leave Petition, the State Waqf Board said that the vacancies in the Waqf Board have been filled in strict compliance with the statutory provisions, and there are no grounds to suspend the functioning of the present Waqf Members on the ground of the vacant posts of two non-Muslim members.
The Board submitted that the HC's interim order is contrary to Section 22 of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995 and that, while passing the order, the HC, totally ignored the fact that mere existence of vacancies will not render the constitution of the Board invalid.
It was also cited that there is no law that all the members in the Waqf Board should be nominated at once. Section 22 of the Act says that no act or proceeding of the Board shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy amongst its members or any defect in the constitution of the board.
The HC has posted the case on July 22, while the SC will consider the petition on July 21. George Sebastian, General Secretary, ACTS, said the Waqf board, in its petition submitted in the SC, stated that it was the responsibility of the state government to nominate members to the board as per Section 14 of the Waqf (amendment) Act, 2025 and that the Board doesn't oppose the nomination of non-Muslim members.
The state government has told the HC that there is a requirement to reconstitute the Board in strict compliance with the mandate of Section 14 of the United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act (UMEED). The legal stand of the state government has triggered intense reactions from the CPM. During the tenure of the LDF government, it impleaded in the petition in the SC against the amendment to UMEED Act, 1995. The Kerala Legislative Assembly had also passed a resolution against the amendment in 2024.
Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan said that the UDF government's move to include non-Muslim members in the Waqf board supports the BJP's demand and that it weakens the case in the SC. The LDF government reconstituted the State Waqf Board in February 2026 by nominating 9 Muslim members. In March 2026, the government issued another notification replacing M K Sakeer with K K Hamza as the Chairperson of the Waqf Board.