Kochi: The Kerala High Court has invalidated the state government's order to appoint a commission, led by former acting Chief Justice CN Ramachandran Nair, to investigate the Munambam land issue.

On Monday, the court allowed a petition challenging the appointment of the inquiry commission, which was tasked with finding a permanent solution to the dispute between Munambam residents and the Waqf Board. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas ruled that the order appointing the commission was made without considering relevant facts and must be set aside.

"However, as the issue is under consideration before the Waqf Tribunal, even if the dispute creates any issues of public order, recourse to the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act could not have been resorted to at this stage. As the relevant facts which ought to have been borne in mind while appointing a commission of inquiry were not considered by the government, the order appointing the commission of inquiry was issued without any application of mind and fails the test of law. Hence, the order is quashed," the court stated.

The petition was filed by Waqf Samrakshana Vedhi, challenging the appointment of the commission headed by Justice CN Ramachandran Nair. The petitioner argued that the rights over the land had been crystallised through multiple rounds of litigation. However, the respondents countered that the matter is still being contested before the Waqf Tribunal in Kozhikode.

Residents of Munambam have been protesting because they are unable to pay land tax or get their properties mutated at the Kuzhupilly Village Office due to claims that the properties are registered as Waqf lands. The residents claim that their predecessors had bought the property from Farook College. The main issue is whether Siddhique Sait, who gifted the property to Farook College in 1950, intended it to be a Waqf property. An appeal is currently pending before the Waqf Tribunal in Kozhikode against the enlistment of the property as Waqf land. The residents have also filed a case before the High Court challenging the validity of the Waqf Act itself.

The state government, through a notification on November 27, 2024, appointed the commission, stating that it was necessary "to find a permanent solution" to the dispute over ownership between Munambam residents and the Waqf Board. The notification directed the commission to inquire into and report on how to protect the rights and interests of the bona fide occupants of the land.

Following the appointment of the commission, the petitioner moved the High Court. According to reports, the commission had paused its operations and was awaiting the court's decision.