The Kerala High Court on Thursday sought the state’s response in a public interest litigation (PIL) moved by BJP leader Shone George alleging that the State Waqf Board is functioning in violation of the statutory mandates provided under the United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995, following its 2025 amendment.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V. M. granted the state time to file an affidavit and posted the matter for consideration after two weeks.
According to the PIL, the state government has not appointed two non-Muslim members to the Board as statutorily required by the 2025 Waqf Amendment Act. This renders the Board’s functioning unconstitutional and nullifies all of its administrative, supervisory, and quasi-judicial decisions, the PIL states.
The primary contention raised by Shone George in his PIL is based on Section 14(1) of the United Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995, following its 2025 amendment.
The Amendment Act, which came into force on April 8 last year introduced a mandatory requirement under Section 14(1) to include at least two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board, excluding ex-officio members.
During the hearing on Thursday, Senior Advocate Santhosh Mathew appearing for Shone George pointed out that with the 2025 amendment, which came into effect from April 8, 2025, it has become mandatory to have at least 2 non-Muslims in the Waqf Board but the Kerala Waqf Board is functioning without any non-Muslims.
He also pointed to a government order in which nine members out of a total of 11 were nominated, and all nine were Muslims. Though the order states that the other two members would be appointed shortly, no further nomination was made. He argued that a mere promise of future compliance cannot legally legitimize an actively non-compliant board.