Kerala High Court Permits State To Accept Land Tax From Residents Of Disputed Munambam Land

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (November 26) passed an interim order directing the District Collector, Tahsildar and the Village Officer to accept tax from the persons residing in the disputed Munambam land, which the State Wakf Board has claimed to be wakf property.

Justice C. Jayachandran passed the interim order while considering a batch of petitions, one of which was preferred by the Bhoo Samrakshana Samithy and other persons claiming to be landowners.

According to the plea, they had purchased the property years back from the Managing Committee of the Faarok College. They state that the Wakf Board does not have ownership over the property.

It is stated that they had effected mutation and were paying land tax. However, after the Wakf Board raised claim over the properties, their respective land taxes were not being accepted by the Village Officer concerned. Aggrieved they had come before the High Court.

They have prayed for a declaration that the Wakf Board has no right over their properties. Additionally, a direction is sought to the official respondents to accept land tax and permit related activities like effect mutation, transfer and alienation of the property.

As an interim relief, a direction is prayed for as against the District Collector and Tahsildar to accept land tax. This was allowed by the Court's interim order today. 

The case is posted to December 17 for further consideration.

Background

The Munambam land dispute involves a 404.76-acre stretch of land in Ernakulam that was originally owned by Farook College Managing Committee after it was transferred by one Mohammed Sidhique Sait through a deed back in 1950. Subsequently, the College had sold portions of this land to persons, some of whom had constructed homes and other buildings upon it.

In 2019, the Kerala Waqf Board classified the land covered by the 1950 deed as Waqf property, treating the deed as a Waqf deed rather than a gift. This move was opposed by families and individuals who had purchased the land from Farook College. Thereafter, the State Government had appointed a Judicial Commission headed by former High Court judge Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair to inquire into the dispute.

This was challenged in a writ petition and the Single Judge had quashed the notification constituting Commission of Inquiry. Recently, a Division Bench of the High Court held that the Munambam property is not a Waqf land.

The Division Bench had allowed the two writ appeals filed by the State government and held that the 1950 endowment deed executed by Mohammed Siddique Sait in favour of the Farooq College Managing Committee was not a waqf deed but a simple gift deed, never intended to create a permanent dedication of property in favour of God.

Challenging this, a Special Leave Petition has been preferred before the Supreme Court by the Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi.

Case No: WP(C) 4476/2023 and connected cases

Case Title: The Bhoo Samrakshana Samithy and Ors. v. District Collector and Ors. and connected cases

Counsel for the petitioners in WP(C) 4476/2023: T. Krishnanunni (Sr.), O.D. Sivadas, Vinaya V. 

Click to Read/Download Interim Order