The Kerala High Court on Saturday questioned the state government’s authority to appoint an inquiry commission to investigate Munambam land dispute between the locals and the Waqf Board, considering the matter had already been settled through previous judicial verdicts.

A single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, while hearing a petition filed by Kerala Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi, a registered society working to protect Waqf properties in the state, sought clarification from the State Government Pleader on whether such a commission could arrive at a conclusion contrary to prior court decisions.

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“On a matter already concluded by a civil court judgment and affirmed by the High Court in appeal, can a Commission of Inquiry come up with a different conclusion, thereby reopening a Pandora’s box,” the court asked.

The court orally observed that the commission, headed by Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair, appeared to lack a proper rationale.

“There is no proper application of mind in the order appointing the commission. It looks like an eyewash. What authority does the state government have to appoint such a commission? In a matter already concluded by a civil court judgment and affirmed by the High Court, can an inquiry commission arrive at a different conclusion,” the court questioned.

“It is a settled proposition that once the title or rights to a property are settled, no other court, including the High Court, can interfere,” the court noted, adding that if the commission were to consider the property title, it would intrude upon rights already adjudicated.

The court further stated that the state government lacked the authority to appoint a commission regarding the 104-acre property in Munambam, already declared Waqf land by judicial orders.

“As far as the 104 acres are concerned, it is Waqf property as declared by the Board. There is no exclusion in the commission’s mandate regarding this land. Including the Waqf property in the inquiry exceeds the state’s authority,” Justice Thomas observed, adding that he was inclined to grant interim relief.

The court suggested that the government order might be valid if the commission’s scope excluded the 104-acre Waqf land and focused on other areas in Munambam.

However, the State Government Pleader countered that the commission was only a fact-finding body. In response, the court asked whether such a body could investigate matters already settled by the judiciary.

The petitioner society submitted that the land in question was listed as Waqf property, with its status affirmed by civil and High Court judgments.

The court adjourned the case for further hearing on January 29.

The Kerala government constituted the judicial commission on November 22, 2023, after a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The commission was tasked with finding a “permanent solution” to the ownership dispute between Munambam residents and the Waqf Board.

The dispute began in 2019 when the Waqf Board claimed the land, citing it as Waqf property donated to Farook College, Kozhikode, by Siddique Sait in 1950. In 2022, local residents were barred from paying land taxes.

Following protests, the Kerala government allowed them to pay taxes, a decision later challenged in the High Court by the Waqf Samrakshana Samithi. The court stayed the government’s decision.

Approximately 800 families in Munambam, including 600 Christians and the rest Hindus and Muslims, face the risk of eviction due to the Waqf Board’s claims.