Close to three weeks following the Kerala High Court challenging the Pinarayi Vijayan government's decision to go in for an Inquiry Commission to settle a long-standing land matter in Munambam, a division bench has suspended that verdict pending that the work of the commission go on.
On Monday, the bench granted a stay to the High Court's previous ruling, thus allowing Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair, appointed by Chief Minister Vijayan, to continue his inquiry. The commission is charged with inquiring into the rights of around 600 families that are threatened with eviction after the land they inhabit was ruled to be Waqf property.
The central issue of contention is a tract of land at Munambam, which was originally 404.76 acres but has decreased to approximately 135.11 acres through sea erosion over time.
In its recent order, the division bench observed: "The appeals are admitted. List the appeals for hearing on the daily board from June 16, 2025. During the pendency of these appeals, the operation and implementation of the judgment dated March 17, 2025, is stayed. The report submitted by the Commission will not be acted upon by the State government without seeking leave of this court in view of these appeals."
The history of the case goes back to 1950 when the land was donated to Farook College by a man called Siddique Sait. Nevertheless, many families had already settled on the land previously. In spite of the donation, most of the residents remained in occupation, and thus legal battles between the residents and the institution ensued. The college disposed of parts of the land to these residents over the years.
Yet the transactions did not reveal that the land was Waqf property. The Kerala Waqf Board registered the land in its name officially in 2019, rendering the previous sales nugatory.
The move attracted opposition from the local people, who are now at risk of being displaced. In protest, an appeal was filed before the Waqf Tribunal at Kozhikode, questioning the Board's designation of the land.
In the meantime, Waqf Samrakshana Samithi members argued that the state government had no jurisdiction to inquire into Waqf properties beyond the Waqf Act purview and asked for the abolition of the Nair Commission.
The case will now be thoroughly studied on June 16.
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