Kerala High Court Seeks State's Response To PILs Challenging Constitution Of Waqf Board, No Interim Relief For Now
K. Salma Jennath
8 July 2026 2:45 PM IST
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (July 8) sought the State's response to four public interest litigations filed challenging the constitution of the State Waqf Board.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. granted a week's time to the State to file a counter in the case. However, at the moment, no interim order has been passed restraining the Board from functioning.
Today, Advocate Lakshmi Sreedhar appearing for one of the petitioners, told that even though the Board has not been properly constituted, it is still functioning and passing orders, which may have adverse consequences.
"We will look into it. If it is without jurisdiction, it will be annulled," Justice Sen orally said.
All the PILs have challenged the non-inclusion of non-Muslim persons to the Board, which is mandated as per the newly amended Waqf Act.
One of the PILs, moved by the Christian charitable organisation named Assembly of Christian Trust Services (ACTS), has also challenged the upload of the details of the disputed Munambam land on UMEED Portal (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Portal), which is set up for the purpose of filing of details of waqf, saying that it affects Hindu and Christian communities living there.
In the PIL moved by ACTS, there is a challenge to the very composition of the Board for non-inclusion of Shia, Bohra and Aghakhani communities as mandated by law. The composition is also challenged on various other grounds.
The organisation has thus sough for a direction to the State government to issue a fresh notification nominating new members to the Board in accordance with law within a timeframe fixed by the Court. The ACTS has also challenged the filing of the disputed Munambam land by the Board on Centre's UMEED Portal on the ground that the Waqf Act empowers only the muttawali to do so.
In the PIL, moved by BJP leader Shone George, the prayer is for a direction to the State government to nominate the two non-Muslim members immediately and to declare that the Waqf Board is presently functioning in violation of Section 14(1) of the Waqf Act as amended in 2025. The Court had earlier sought the State's response and had directed it to file an affidavit.
In yet another PIL, the same grounds taken in the afore cases were also taken. Additionally, the inclusion of CPI(M) politician and former MLA Kunhammed Kutty Master in the Board is highlighted.
Case No: WP(PIL) 135/2026 and connected case
Case Title: Assembly of Christian Trust Services (ACTS) v. State of Kerala and Ors. and connected cases
