Supreme Court Stays Kerala High Court Order on Munambam Land; Status Quo Until January 27

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Kerala High Court order that had declared the Munambam land as not Wakf property. The stay was granted while considering the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Kerala Wakf Protection Forum (Waqf Samrakshana Vedi). A bench comprising Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed that the present status of the land be maintained until January 27.

The Court, however, clarified that it has not stayed the portion of the High Court verdict that upheld the state government’s decision to appoint a one-member Commission of Inquiry to examine the status and extent of the 404.76-acre Munambam property. The commission may continue its work, the bench said.

The interim order was issued after the Supreme Court admitted the SLP challenging the High Court’s findings. All parties have been asked to file their responses within six weeks. The state government opposed the plea. Advocate Subhash Chandran K appeared for the Kerala State Wakf Board, while standing counsel C. K. Shashi accepted notice on behalf of the state. The matter will undergo detailed hearing on January 27.

The dispute traces back to when Muslim League leader Panakkad Rasheed Ali Thangal, during his tenure as Wakf Board chairman, declared the Munambam land as Wakf property. In 2022, the LDF government issued a special order allowing land revenue payments for the property, following which League leader K. P. A. Majeed raised the issue in the Assembly, triggering a series of legal challenges.

The High Court had previously ruled that the land could not be considered Wakf property, noting that documents from 1950 showed the Munambam land to be an endowment for Farook College. The court held that the Wakf Board’s decision to declare the land as Wakf property after 69 years was legally unsustainable. A Division Bench had also cancelled an earlier single bench order that struck down the judicial commission appointed to examine the matter.

With the Supreme Court’s latest order, the dispute will remain in legal scrutiny as the investigation and inquiry processes continue.