Kerala govt moves top court against HC order on Waqf

The Kerala government has petitioned the Supreme Court against an order of the Kerala High Court that restrained the state Waqf board from taking any major decisions, incurring capital expenditure or making policy decisions.

The appeal was mentioned before a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant for urgent hearing. The CJI agreed to list the matter on Monday.

On July 15, a division bench of the high court had restrained the Waqf board from taking major decisions until the high court decided on a batch of petitions challenging the board's composition. The high court passed an interim order while considering a clutch of petitions challenging the constitution of the current board. The high court observed that the board's existing composition prima facie appeared to be contrary to Section 14 of the 2025 Waqf Amendment Act, which mandates the inclusion of at least two non-Muslim members in every state Waqf board. Hence, the court directed that the board shall not take any major decisions, incur any capital expenditure or take any policy decision without the express leave of the court.


The high court also said that for the time being, the board shall function under the administration and supervision of the joint secretary to the state government who deals with Waqf matters.

The 2025 Waqf Amendment Act came into force in April last year. Among other provisions, it introduced a mandatory requirement under Section 14(1) to include at least two non-Muslim members in the Waqf board, excluding ex officio members.

While considering challenges to the amendment, the Supreme Court did not stay the operation of this requirement. Instead, it imposed an upper limit of three non-Muslim members on state Waqf boards.