Munambam land row: HC stays order quashing inquiry panel

A division bench of the Kerala high court on Monday stayed the decision of a single judge quashing the appointment of an inquiry commission into the dispute over alleged Waqf land in Munambam in Ernakulam district.

The interim order by the bench of chief justice Nitin Jamdar and justice S Manu was passed on an appeal filed by the state government against the March 17 ruling of the single judge setting aside the inquiry commission headed by retired HC judge CN Ramachandran Nair.

“During the pendency of these appeals, the operation and implementation of the (single judge’s order) quashing notification (appointing the commission) dated November 27, 2024 is stayed. The report to be submitted by the Commission constituted under the notification in accordance with its terms of reference will not be acted upon by the State government without seeking leave of this court in these appeals,” the HC said in the order.

The division bench stated that the matter will be heard on a daily basis from June 16 after the summer holidays.

The court noted that the inquiry commission was proceeding “with its statutory mandate” and that it was merely an advisory body with its report not conclusive. It argued against the single judge order stating that the commission would not be interfering with the jurisdiction of any court or tribunal.

The Pinarayi Vijayan-led government appointed the inquiry commission in November last year to investigate the dispute in the coastal hamlet of Munambam where the state Waqf board had claimed ownership of nearly 404 acres of land in 2019.

The demand for an inquiry commission was made after nearly 600 families, mostly Christian fisherfolk, began an indefinite protest claiming that the land, declared as Waqf, on which their homes stood were bought by them over decades.