Kerala High Court Refuses Stay on Waqf Board Reconstitution and Refers Case to Division Bench

The Kerala High Court on Monday declined to stay the UDF government’s reconstitution of the State Waqf Board and referred the matter to a division bench, amid a row over the exclusion of the Sunni faction led by Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar. Former board chairman KS Hamsa had sought a stay on the reconstitution. The single bench said his petition raised issues closely linked to those in another Public Interest Litigation and related cases pending before a division bench.

The government on Friday dissolved the Hamsa-led board, constituted by the previous LDF government in March, and appointed a nine-member board headed by Indian Union Muslim League leader MC Mayin Haji.

The Kanthapuram faction of Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama has accused the government of denying it due representation. The faction has called for marches to collectorates in all 14 districts on October 22. Faction leader Rahmathulah Saqaufi Elamaram alleged in a social media post that the government had deliberately sidelined both the AP and EK factions of Samastha. He questioned the inclusion of groups that he claimed managed only a small share of Kerala’s Waqf properties.

Siraj, the AP faction’s Malayalam mouthpiece, accused the government in an editorial on Sunday of breaking its promise to give Samastha due representation in the Waqf Board and Hajj Committee. The publication stated that the Waqf Board is not a mechanism to protect the interests of any political party, emphasizing that its true role is to protect Waqf properties, prevent encroachments and misuse, and ensure their income serves the intended purposes.

IUML state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal defended the decision, saying organizations left out could get representation in other bodies, including the Hajj Committee and Madrasa Welfare Fund Board. He also disputed the allegation that Samastha had no representation on the new board, noting that chairman MC Mayin Haji and Musthafa Faizi are both from Samastha.

Thangal said the board would address the concerns of all institutions without discrimination. He added that the IUML has called a meeting of Muslim organizations to discuss issues including the board’s reconstitution.