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Kochi, Oct 10 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Friday cleared the way for the state government’s investigation into the long-running Munambam land dispute, while observing that the petitioners challenging the commission were “acting with ulterior motives on behalf of some other interested parties”.
A division bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and Shyam Kumar VM allowed two appeals filed by the state government, overturning a March 17 single-judge order that had set aside the appointment of an inquiry commission constituted to resolve the conflict between around 600 residents and the Waqf Board.
Residents had protested over difficulties in paying land tax and registering mutation, claiming that their predecessors had purchased the land from Farooq College.
The dispute dates back to 1950, when Siddiqui Sait gifted the property to Farooq College. Decades later, the Kerala Waqf Board classified the land as Waqf property, invalidating previous sales and sparking protests from residents.
The state government, in November 2024, appointed a commission headed by retired Justice CN Ramachandran Nair “to find a permanent solution” for the actual occupiers and third-party buyers.
The High Court said the petitioners, Kerala Waqf Sanrakshan Vedhi and others, had failed to show how they were directly affected, raising questions as to why they filed the PIL as “aggrieved persons” instead of filing it.
“They slept till 2019 while the third party rights were being created,” the court said, highlighting that the actual transferee, Farooq College management, had consistently maintained that the 1950 deed was a simple gift, not a waqf deed.
The court concluded that the original petitioners were “carrying out the interests of invisible third parties” while attempting to claim the property from Farooq Management. It further said that the Kerala Waqf Board itself had not contested the validity of the government commission.
By setting aside the single-judge decision, the High Court cleared the way for a commission of inquiry to proceed, potentially paving the way for a resolution in the decades-old Munambam dispute, while reaffirming the legal principle that only those directly affected can challenge a state government’s action.
–IANS
SG/DPB