KOCHI: The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC) has termed the Waqf Board’s claim on the land in Munambam, which was legally acquired by 610 families, as legally and morally untenable.
The KRLCC said this in a memorandum submitted to Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, the chairman of the judicial commission appointed by the state government to resolve the Munambam issue.
It said the board’s move to unilaterally decide that the land in question is waqf land in 2019 and include it in the asset register was completely wrong and inappropriate.
The board, it said, took the decision without considering the provisions of the document called the Waqf Deed, the actual possessors of the land at the time, the legal provisions prevailing at the time, and legal consequences of the decision.
KRLCC officials said the deed registered for the transfer of land to Farook College is titled Waqf Deed, granting the freedom to buy and sell will lose the defining characteristic of waqf. It said there are several court references that clarify this.
“The condition that the land given to Farook College can be used only for educational purposes deprives the basic nature of the waqf as it excludes religious or charitable activities,” it said.
The petition also pointed out several court judgments that the waqf is invalid, because the provision that the land can be taken back in a specific situation eliminates the perpetual dedication.