KOCHI: In a curious move debunking the Waqf Board’s claim, Farook College, Kozhikode, has said that Munambam land is not classified as waqf property, and the college received it through a gift deed.
Members of the college management committee stated this on Thursday before Justice C N Ramachandran Nair, chairman of the judicial commission appointed by Kerala government to investigate Munambam land issue and submit a report.
They asserted that since the property was not waqf, the college had every right to sell the land.
The college management committee members, accompanied by their lawyers, met the judicial commission chairman and explained their stance on the issue.
The management committee’s position is contrary to the Waqf Board’s claim that the Munambam land is waqf property.
Commission to visit Munambam on January 4
When contacted, the management committee members preferred not to make any comment, but reliable sources confirmed the visit.
Till date, Farook College authorities have been maintaining that the Munambam land issue was sub-judice and they would make their stance public only after the judicial procedures were over.
The public hearing by the commission is expected to begin inJanuary. The commission has already issued notices to residents in Munambam, Waqf Samrakshana Samithi, the State Waqf Board, the state government, religious institutions, private establishments in Munambam including hotels, resorts and nursery, asking them to submit relevant documents concerning the land within two weeks.
“Most of the people who were sent notice have submitted their statements. But the Waqf Board and the state government are yet to do it. The commission will visit Munambam to listen to the residents at a meeting to be held at the Munambam Church Parish Hall on January 4 from 10 am. The hearing will be held at the Ernakulam Collectorate Hall,” said a reliable source.
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 in 1950. Residents of Munambam, who purchased the land before the introduction of the Waqf Act, argue that they legally acquired the land from the college management, which was not classified as Waqf property at that time.
By 2022, these families faced difficulties in paying land taxes at the village office, but the state government intervened and enabled the payment temporarily. However, the Waqf protection council challenged this decision, leading to a legal dispute.
