Process initiated to ensure adequate representation for Shia and Sunni members on Waqf board, Keralam informs Kerala HC

The State government informed the Kerala High Court on Wednesday that the process to determine Shia and Sunni members on the Kerala State Waqf Board to meet the mandate under the law would be completed within two weeks

Advocate General K. Jaju Babu informed the Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice V.M. Syam Kumar that all necessary steps were taken to determine the number of Shia or Sunni members on the board and the value of the Shia and Sunni Auqaf to be administered by the board to ensure adequate representation as per the United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 2025.

The court was considering a batch of petitions filed by BJP leader Shone George, Assembly of Christian Trust Services (ACTS) , president of Aal-E-Rasool Foundation Sajid Hussain Khatai, and junior warrant officer of the Indian Air Force V.M. Stalin. 

Mr. George had challenged the non-inclusion of non-Muslim members on the board as mandated under the UMEED Act. The ACTS challenged the upload of 404 acres of coastal land at Munambam on the UMEED portal and contended that there was no representation of Shia, Bohra, and Aghakhani communities as required under the law.

Mr. Khatai had raised concerns over the lack of representation of  Ithna Ashaari, a Shia community, and the petition by Mr. Stalin had challenged the inclusion of CPI(M) politician and former MLA K.P. Kunhammed Kutty, alleging that only two months were left in his tenure and the appointment went against the law.