Key Points
Kerala government initiates independent commission to examine complex land dispute
Protesters claim Waqf Board exploited legal ambiguities
High Court petition challenges commission's constitutional validity
Commissioners given one month to prepare investigation report
The dispute was between the Waqf Board and the natives of the village.
Justice CN Ramachandran Nair, speaking to ANI, mentioned that a petition had been filed in the High Court challenging the constitution of the Commission.
He further noted that the Commission had already received written statements from most of the involved parties.
"After nearly two months of the Munambam Judicial Commission, somebody has filed a petition in the High Court challenging the constitution of the Commission. The Commission has received written statements from most of the parties..." Nair said speaking to ANI.
Further, he said that the commissioners now have about a month to prepare their report and submit it to the government.
"Now the commissioners have roughly a month to prepare a report and file it before the government. Since the High Court has admitted the case, the Commission for the time being has decided to withhold its proceedings..." he added.
On January 25, protestors against the alleged Waqf exploitation had written a letter to to the political parties of India and the Members of the Parliament on the 100th day of their hunger strike.
In the letter, the protesters, referring to themselves as the 'denizens' of Munambam, sought attention and support for the issues they have faced due to the 1995 Waqf Act.
"We, the denizens of Munambam village nestled in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, beseech your illustrious attention and unwavering support regarding a matter of profound injustice that besets our community and myriad other citizens nationwide, stemming from the Waqf Act of 1995, subsequently amended in 2013," the letter read.
The letter stated how the Waqf Board had exploited the chasms within the Act to claim the land in Munambam.
"In our deplorable circumstances, the Waqf Board has manifestly exploited the chasms within the Act to insidiously lay claim to our cherished land in Munambam. The Board has audaciously designated our land as Waqf property, basing this spurious declaration solely upon the fortuitous occurrence of the term 'Waqf' within the deed of 1995, while willfully disregarding the substantive essence of the deed itself, which unequivocally encompasses a clause permitting property sales and stipulations that are fundamentally antithetical to the very nature of Waqf."
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