Declaring land in Munambam (Kerala) as ‘Waqf’ amounts to an attempt at land grabbing

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) – In a relief to over 600 families in Munambam near Kochi facing eviction over the Kerala Waqf Board’s land claim, the Kerala High Court on Friday observed that the Board’s decision to declare the disputed land as Waqf property was not legally valid.

A division bench made the observation while setting aside a single bench order that had quashed the Kerala government’s move to form an inquiry commission to examine the issue. The bench, however, refrained from cancelling the Waqf Board’s 2019 order declaring the land as Waqf since the case before it only pertained to the appointment of the inquiry commission. The bench of Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar V M noted that the Munambam land originated from a 1950 gift deed and said the Waqf declaration could amount to an attempt at land grabbing.