Munambam land dispute: Kerala Waqf Board chairperson says ‘humanitarian approach’ needed in residents’ case

The plight of residents of Munambam, who purchased their holdings from Farook College, Kozhikode, needs to be approached from “a humanitarian” perspective and their interests need to be protected, according to Kerala Waqf Board chairperson K.S. Hamsa.

Speaking to mediapersons after assuming the charge of the chairperson on Monday, Mr. Hamsa, who stuck to the board’s earlier position that the controversial holding at Munambam was indeed a Waqf property, blamed Farook College, the Mutawalli (the manager of the Waqf), for the land dispute.

“It was the college authorities who committed the illegal acts, and the residents who purchased the holdings from them cannot be blamed for it. The residents shall not be burdened for the injustice committed by the college. At the same time, the Waqf property shall not be alienated and the interests of the residents need to be protected. As the issue is pending before the Waqf Tribunal, the board will wait for the outcome to decide on the matter,” he said.

Incidentally, the residents of Munambam had challenged the decision of the board notifying the holding as a Waqf property and including it in the board’s register. The issue had snowballed into a full-fledged socio-political controversy and threatened to communally polarise the society as the Church-led action council of the residents for restoring their revenue rights, the Sangh Parivar organisations and a few Hindu community organisations came together to oppose the board and the organisations fighting for the restoration of Waqf properties.

Though BJP leaders, including Union Ministers, had assured the residents that the issue would be resolved once the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 introduced by the Union government was passed, it was later revealed that the issue could be settled only through litigation.

The appointment of a judicial commission by the Kerala government to suggest measures for protecting the interests of the residents had also courted controversy.

In the meantime, a Division Bench of the High Court of Kerala, which considered the challenges to the appointment of the judicial commission, had declared that Munambam was not a Waqf land. The special leave petition filed by the board against the order of the Division Bench is pending before the Supreme Court.