The wait for judicial finality Premium

Why the Kerala government is keenly watching the Waqf proceedings in Court

The Kerala government, which is opposed to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, is closely watching the legal proceedings in the Waqf case in the Supreme Court.

In 2019, the Waqf Board in Kerala staked claim over more than 400 acres of land in Munambam, a coastal village in Ernakulam district. The inhabitants of Munambam are mostly Christian families numbering around 600. When several residents of the village began demanding restoration of the revenue rights of their holdings, the State BJP saw an opportunity. The party unleashed a campaign arguing that enactment of the new law would resolve the issue. It also hoped that this pitch would help it make some inroads into the Christian votes of the State. However, its hopes were dashed when it later emerged that the law would be of little help in solving the issue as there are no specific provisions in the 2025 amendment that will directly address the issue. BJP leaders have themselves clarified that they will have to wage a legal battle to get the issue solved.

The ruling LDF and the Opposition UDF are united in their opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Act and wasted no time in campaigning against what they termed as “deceitful acts” of the BJP to communally polarise Kerala. Immediately, BJP leaders, including Union Ministers, went on a damage-control exercise. They tried to save the party from political embarrassment and from the possibility of losing the trust of the residents of Munambam residents and Christian voters by requesting them to wait for just three weeks. They contended that the Rules of the amended Act would be notified in this period. However, the Union government is yet to publish the Rules, even as the constitutional validity of the Act is being challenged in the Supreme Court. The intense legal battle may take time to conclude and could further delay the notification of the Rules.

To add to the BJP’s woes, legal experts have been cautioning the residents of Munambam against being too optimistic about the changes that the Rules could bring in to support their cause. They say no Rule can prescribe anything which has not already been mentioned in the parent law. Rules, they argue, are the enabling provisions of the parent law; they are nothing but specific instructions for the implementation of a law.

Meanwhile, the new chairperson of the Waqf Tribunal, T.K. Minimol, who was a district and sessions judge serving in Thrissur, will have to consider afresh the litigation regarding Munambam, initiated two years ago.

The constitutional challenges raised regarding the 2025 Act have left the Kerala Waqf Board, which is on an extended term, in a confused position. The term of the present Board, which is headed by a nominee of the CPI (M), ended on December 19, 2024. The Kerala High Court had asked the Board to continue in office for two more months or until the election for picking up members, whichever is earlier, was completed. Its order came before the legislation was enacted. The 2025 legislation, which has done away with the election process, has proposed that members be nominated to the Board. Also, it has made provisions for nominating non-Muslims to the Board, which has come under legal challenge before the Supreme Court. The Board has to put on hold the process of reconstitution even after the expiry of its term.

The State government, which had earlier thought of reconstituting the Board as prescribed in the Waqf (Amendment) Act, appears to have decided not to act in haste and wait for the Court’s verdict as it had raised objections to several provisions of the Act. After hesitating for some time, the Kerala government decided to implead in the litigation before the top court challenging the constitutional validity of the 2025 legislation. The Board had acted in this direction much before the government took a call on challenging the new legislation. The post of the Chief Executive Officer for the Kerala Board will also have to be filled up shortly.