On 28th October 2024, families in Talapuzha village of Wayanad district in Kerala received notices from the Kerala State Waqf Board claiming that the land parcels they owned belonged to the board. The notices, as shared by The Hindu in its report, cite complaints of alienation of Waqf property. The notices have sparked significant controversy in the region. Though five families have received notices so far, the locals fear that the remaining families in the area will receive similar notices sooner or later.
What the notice says
As per the notice issued under Section 52 of the Waqf Act, 1995, there was a complaint filed about the alienation of 4.7 acres of land registered as Waqf property under Survey Numbers 47/1 and 45/1. The Kerala State Waqf Board directed the landowners to present their written submissions with supporting documentation by 16th November 2024. An online hearing in the matter was scheduled for 19th November 2024, as per the notice. Furthermore, the notice issued a warning that failure to respond or appear would lead to decisions being made in absentia. In other words, the board said it would proceed with the case ex-parte.
Affected landowners speak out
The notices have stirred strong emotions among the landowners. They have asserted their legitimate ownership of the land, backed by decades of legal documentation and uninterrupted possession. Among the five families that have received the notices, both Hindu and Muslim families have expressed distress over the matter and see it as an attempt to encroach on their property rights.
One of the recipients of the notice, Tushara Ajith Kumar, expressed disbelief. She stated that her family has held the title deed for their land since 1949. Her father-in-law, Havaldar Kunjuraman, purchased the land from a Christian family in the 1940s and maintained all documentation properly. Kunjuraman ensured meticulous documentation, with records dating from 1949 to the late 1960s.
Later, the land was distributed among his six children, including Tushara’s husband, Ajith Kumar. Recently, she attempted to sell a portion of the land and suspects that the issue arose when three members of the Thalapuzha Hayathul Islam Jamaat mosque committee objected to the sale. They claimed that the land belonged to the Waqf Board. She believes that the members of the mosque committee escalated the matter to the Waqf Board.
Tushara is a homemaker and is among those who vocally oppose the claims laid down by the state Waqf Board. Her family owns a total of 75 cents of land in Talapuzha village.
Tushara expressed her determination to resist the board’s claims, saying the land could only be taken “over her dead body.” Her son, Jithul, has since delved into the legal provisions of the Waqf Acts and amendments, and the family is working with an advocate to contest the notice.
Muslim families also in distress
The notices were not limited to non-Muslim landowners. Seventy-year-old Hamsa Faizi got the shock of his life as he became one of the landowners who received the notice. He owns 12.75 cents of land that he purchased in 1998 from Sukumaran and Krishnankutty, children of Kunhootty Alakkandy, and paid Rs 50,000 per cent at that time. Since then, he has maintained his tax payments and property records as required.
Interestingly, Faizi was an office-bearer of the Jamaat committee for several years. Expressing his dismay, he said, “I have all valid documents for my property, and yet I was sent this notice.” Faizi’s house was built in 1987 by a former resident. He has been living in the house for decades. Despite assurances from local leaders of support in the matter, Faizi fears for the future of his land.
Jamal’s unexpected ordeal
Jamal owns a 15-cent plot. He described the notice as a “bolt from the blue.” He has been living on the property for the past 14 years and runs a shop on the premises. He also has all the valid land records and tax receipts. He noted that some of the families in the area own as little as 9 cents of land, which shows the ownership of the properties is scattered among owners.
Commercial and residential use
There are seven houses and ten shops on the so-called disputed land, which is located along the road near the Thalapuzha police station. Residents worry that the claims laid down by the Waqf Board could disrupt their lives and livelihoods.
Ancestral and documented ownership
The landowners uniformly insist on the legitimacy of their claims. Records from the Thavinhal Panchayat show that at least one building on the disputed land has documentation dating back to 1948. Most of the residents have title deeds that predate the 1963 deed cited by the mosque committee. Many are second- or third-generation landowners who have consistently paid land taxes and maintained property records without any prior disputes over Waqf claims.
Growing fear among other residents
While only five families have been issued notices so far, other residents in the area, numbering around 50 families, fear that they will receive similar notices in the future. These families also own small parcels of land within the so-called disputed 4.7-acre stretch.
Claims by the mosque committee
The managing committee of the Thalapuzha Hayathul Islam Jamaat Mosque lodged a complaint with the Waqf Board, suggesting that the disputed land was originally donated by the faithful in 1963 through a registered title deed. The mosque currently retains only 67 cents of land, which includes the mosque, a madrassa, and a cemetery. Abdul Nassar, the committee president, claimed that the issue first arose between 2006 and 2012 but was formally reported to the Waqf Board in 2022 following an inquiry into another matter.
Political and community reactions
The controversy has drawn widespread attention from local leaders as well. NDA candidate Navya Haridas visited Talapuzha and assured the affected families of her support. She vowed to prevent the Waqf Board from taking over private land. BJP sources alleged that the board was hastily issuing notices to acquire land ahead of proposed amendments to the Waqf Act.
Meanwhile, the local community has formed an action council, submitting memorandums to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Minister OR Kelu. Residents are demanding government intervention to protect their property rights.
‘Once a Waqf, always a Waqf’
The literal meaning of Waqf is detention, confinement, and prohibition. As per Islam, it is the property now available only for religious or charitable purposes, and any other use or sale of the property is prohibited. As per Sharia law, once Waqf is established, and the property is dedicated to Waqf, it remains Waqf property forever.
Waqf means that the ownership of the property is now taken away from the person making the Waqf and transferred to Allah. As per Sharia, this property is now permanently dedicated to Allah, making Waqf irrevocable in nature.
‘Waqif’ is a person who creates a Waqf for the beneficiary. As Waqf properties are bestowed upon Allah, in the absence of a physically tangible entity, a ‘mutawalli’ is appointed by the Waqif, or by a competent authority, to manage or administer a Waqf.
Since the ownership of the property is transferred to Allah from the Waqif in the case of Waqf, and the property cannot be taken back from Allah, once a property becomes Waqf, it will always stay Waqf.
Recently, the Gujarat Waqf Board had staked claim to the Surat Municipal Corporation building which is now the property of the Waqf because the documents were not updated. As per Waqf, back during the Mughal era, the Surat Municipal Corporation building was a sarai and used during the Hajj travels. The property then belonged to British Empire during British rule. However, when India got independence in 1947, the properties were then shifted to the government of India. However, since the documents were not updated, the SMC building then became Waqf property, and as Waqf Board says, once a Waqf, always a Waqf.
In another bizarre case of staking a claim, Divya Bhaskar had reported that the Waqf Board had written an application to Gujarat High Court staking claim on the ownership of two islands in Bet Dwarka in Devbhoomi Dwarka. A perplexed High Court Judge refused to hear the application and asked the Board to revise its petition wondering how can Waqf stake a claim on land in Krishnanagri.
Another interesting aspect of Waqf is that an apartment in your housing society can any day turn into a mosque without any input from the other members of the society if the owner of that apartment decides to endow it as Waqf. Something similar happened in Shiv Shakti society in Surat where one of the plot owners registered his plot with the Gujarat Waqf Board, making it a holy place for Muslims, and people started offering Namaz there.
OpIndia’s detailed explanation of Waqf can be checked here.
