Supreme Court stays Kerala HC order stating Munambam land not waqf
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Kerala High Court order that said notifying the Munambam land as waqf was a "land-grabbing tactic of the Kerala Waqf Board" and ordered status quo over the property in dispute, PTI reported.
A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan, however, clarified that it has not stayed the direction of the high court upholding the government order appointing an inquiry commission to ascertain ownership of the disputed area.
The dispute concerns the villages of Cherai and Munambam in Ernakulam district, where residents have alleged that the Waqf Board was unlawfully claiming their land and properties, despite them holding registered deeds and land tax payment receipts.
The top court issued a notice to the Kerala government and sought its response to a plea filed by the Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedi challenging the October 10 order of the high court on the 404-acre property in Munambam.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the petitioner, said the high court has erred in its observations by going into the issues that are to be dealt with by the Waqf Tribunal, and remarks on the validity of the Waqf deed were unwarranted, as it was not the issue involved.
He said the case before the high court was a challenge to the setting up of an inquiry commission by the state to look into the validity of the Waqf deed and the nature of the land -- the two issues that are exclusively within the domain of the Waqf Tribunal.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for the Kerala government, opposed the submissions and said that the Muttawalli of the concerned Waqf did not approach the high court or was not aggrieved with the constitution of the inquiry commission, and that the petitioner was a stranger to the proceedings.
He said the inquiry commission has already submitted its report to the state government.
Ahmadi submitted that the Muttawalli of the Waqf has sided with the opposite parties (the local residents).
The counsel appearing for the local residents said these are people who are poor fishermen, and the challenge to the inquiry commission has become infructuous because the report has been submitted to the state government.