KOCHI: Kottappuram Bishop Dr Ambroze Puthanveetil held a meeting with Munambam Judicial Commission chairman Justice C N Ramachandran Nair. The Bishop presented documents claiming that Munambam land does not belong to the Waqf Board. “I hope the commission will serve justice in the issue,” he said.
The Farook College management had met with the chairman of the Judicial Commission last week and had claimed that the Waqf Board has no claim over the disputed land and it was the sole property of the college.
“My duty is to recommend to the government how to help the Munambam people in all legally possible ways,” said Justice Ramachandran Nair. He is set to visit Munambam and the public hearing is expected to begin in January.
The commission will submit its report to the government by February 2025.
The land dispute in Munambam started when the State Waqf Board asserted ownership of land that was reportedly donated to Farook College in Kozhikode by Siddique Sait, a trader, in 1950. Residents of Munambam, who purchased the land before the introduction of the Waqf Act, argue that they legally bought the land from the college management, which was not classified as waqf property at that time.
Kottapuram diocese vicar general Mon. Rocky Roby Kalathil, Kadappuram Velankanni church vicar Fr Antony Xavier Tharayil C P and Land Conservation Committee convener Joseph Benny Kuruppasserri, also took part in the meeting.