Kochi : The high court, in a special sitting on Saturday, declined to stay a govt order reconstituting the Keralam State Waqf Board by replacing all its members, including chairman K M Hamza, and appointing a new panel headed by M C Mayin Haji, state vice-president of the IUML.
Justice S Manu referred the petitions filed by Hamza and others challenging the govt order dated Oct 16 to the division bench before which PILs challenging the board’s constitution is currently pending. The PILs alleged that the erstwhile board had been constituted in violation of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, particularly with regard to the inclusion of non-Muslim members. Senior counsel submitted that the state had assured the division bench in the pending PILs that it would only fill existing vacancies in accordance with Section 14 of the Waqf Act.
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news. The single bench further asserted that the reconstitution of the board would be subject to the final outcome of the PILs. The petitioners contended that the govt lacked the authority to reconstitute the board by superseding the existing panel. However, the govt issued the impugned order on the eve of court holidays, they argued. The additional advocate general opposed the petitions, arguing that the govt had exercised its implied power to cancel the appointments to ensure compliance with statutory requirements, including representation for the Bohra community and the nomination of non-Muslim members. After hearing the parties, the court noted that the division bench had not restrained the govt from taking appropriate steps to ensure the board’s lawful constitution and accordingly declined to grant an interim stay of the govt order. Download the TOI App.