Explained: End of Munambam protests in Kerala, what the waqf-related dispute was about

History of the land in Munambam

The Kerala State Waqf Board has long staked a claim to 404 acres of land along the Munambam coast in the Ernakulam district. That land has been inhabited for generations by some 600 families, around 400 of whom primarily belong to the backward Latin Catholic community, while the rest are backward Hindus.

These families began protesting after the Waqf Board staked a claim to the land, citing not only their long residence but also the title deeds they secured after purchasing the land.

Generally, waqf refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as building mosques, schools, hospitals, or other public institutions. Waqf land cannot be sold, gifted, inherited or encumbered since it is said to be vested in God.

According to land records, the Travancore royals leased the Munambam land spread across the villages of Kuzhuppilly and Pallipuram to a trader named Abdul Sathar Moosa Sait in the early 20th century.

After his death, his successor and son-in-law, Mohammed Siddique Sait, had the land registered in his own name. He then decided to hand it over to the management of Kozhikode’s Farook College, established in 1948 to educationally empower Muslims of Malabar (northern Kerala). On November 1, 1950, a waqf deed was registered at the sub-registrar’s office in Edappally, Kochi, executed by Sait in favour of the president of the Farook College. A waqf deed is a document that establishes a waqf.

Dispute between residents and Farook College

The college received the title deed for the land in the 1960s, and by the end of the decade, a legal battle began between them and the residents, who lacked relevant documents at the time.

Eventually, in an out-of-court settlement, the college management decided to sell the land to its residents at market rate. Documents show that in the sale deeds, the college management did not mention that the land in question was waqf property, instead saying it was received as a gift deed in 1950.

In 1975, the lower court and the High Court upheld the college’s stand. Over time, the college sold plots of land to others, enabling the residents to stake legal rights over the land. Later, many landowners engaged in commercial activities on the land.

However, in 2008, the state government formed an inquiry commission headed by former district judge MA Nissar to examine the alleged irregularities and illegalities of the Kerala State Waqf Board and its instrumentalities.

The commission’s terms and references did not include Munambam, but it asked the Waqf Board to declare the land as waqf property, stating that the college management had approved of its sale without the board’s consent. Accordingly, the board declared and registered the land as a waqf property in the name of Mohammed Siddique Sait in 2019.

Farook College challenges waqf board takeover

The Farook College management moved the High Court against the Waqf Board’s decision, saying that the land was a property gifted to it. The Waqf Board was established after the deed was registered, and it was the legal responsibility of the muthavalli or the waqf trustee (in this case, the college management) to register all waqf properties with the board.

However, the college management argued that they did not take any action because they received a gift deed, and not a waqf deed.

Latest protest

The residents’ protest to restore their legal rights turned into a political issue with the BJP joining their cause, against the CPI(M) and the Congress supporting the Waqf Board. In November last year, the state government appointed retired High Court judge CN Ramachandran Nair to find a solution for the land row.

Notably, while the dispute officially is regarding 404 acres of land, decades of sea and river erosion have substantially reduced its size.

In May, the commission reported that the government should acquire the disrupted land in favour of the residents if they lose the court case. However, a single bench of the Kerala High Court later cancelled the commission appointment, acting upon a petition from the Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi, which is fighting to protect Munambam as waqf land.

In October, a division bench of the High Court said the “action of the Kerala Waqf Board of declaring/registering the Munambam property as a Waqf property through its declarations and orders are bad in law”. The court allowed the government to proceed with the implementation of the commission’s recommendations. Subsequently, the agitators moved the High Court and recently obtained a verdict, which directed the state revenue department to accept the land tax from the residents.

On November 19, the Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi moved the Supreme Court against the HC division bench directive. The petition is now pending before the Supreme Court.

Further, while the chairperson of the Munambam Bhoo Samrakshana Samithi (Munambam Land Protection Committee), the body spearheading the agitation, called off the protest, another group that is seen as being supported by the BJP has now begun another agitation for continued protests.