The Waqf Tribunal has questioned the validity of the Kerala Waqf Board’s claim on the Munambam land on the ground that the said land was not registered as Waqf property when the Farook College carried out its sale. In Friday’s hearing, the Tribunal chairman pointed out that there could not be any issue with the sale of the property as it was not registered as Waqf when the sale happened.
It was in the 1950s that the property deeds hinting that the said land belonged to the Waqf emerged. The Waqf Act of 1954 states that if a piece of land was discovered to be Waqf property, it has to be registered within three months. Only such a registration gives the Waqf Board power to intervene in matters of the said property. However, the land in question at Munambam was not registered as Waqf property even after the Act came into effect. Instead the registration procedure began only in 2019.
The Farook college had sold the property much before that. The Tribunal pointed out to the Waqf Board that the sale could be hence valid.
The Board did not make any counter arguments to this point and asked for time to cross check the facts. Farook College informed the Tribunal that it had sold land to 220 people from 1988-1990.
Published – April 11, 2025 06:29 pm IST
