Kerala Waqf Board reconstitution: Govt has authority but will review legal aspects, says Minister

Thiruvananthapuram: Minority Welfare Minister N Samsudheen stated on Monday that the state administration will thoroughly review all legal factors, including matters pending before the judiciary, before taking a final call on reconstituting the Waqf Board.

He claimed that no formal decision has been reached regarding the dissolution or restructuring of the current board.

Samsudheen made these remarks in response to media reports claiming the state government had already decided to dissolve the Kerala State Waqf Board.

“No such decision has been taken. All of you are aware of the Waqf Board issue. A case related to this is currently pending before the Kerala High Court. During the hearing of the case, the court observed that under the existing law, the government has the authority to reconstitute the Waqf Board,” he told reporters.

He added that proceedings remain active as the case has not yet been disposed of and arguments are ongoing.

When questioned about a timeline for reconstituting the body, Samsudheen reiterated that no formal steps had been taken recently.

“We will examine all aspects. Currently, two or three cases related to this are pending. So, in that situation, the government can make a decision on a matter only after examining all aspects,” he said.

The Minister added that the administration is also closely monitoring petitions filed before the Supreme Court challenging recent amendments to the Waqf Act.

“So, we are observing all of this. After observing, we will move forward accordingly. We have taken no such decision in recent days,” he stated.

Addressing a separate petition in the High Court challenging nominations made to the board by the previous administration, Samsudheen said, “We also feel that it was not proper, because the people who were supposed to be appointed under each quota were not the ones designated under those quotas.”

SSLC minimum mark requirement deferred

Samsudheen, who also serves as the General Education Minister, announced that the government will not enforce the minimum subject-mark rule for SSLC and higher secondary classes this year, choosing instead to review the policy enacted by the previous government.

“That was a decision taken by the previous government. Their decision was to implement it in SSLC this academic year. So, we need to examine that once again. After all, it's a reform. It is an issue that affects tens of thousands of children. So we will not implement it this year," he said.

Following the Minister's statement, the General Education Department has temporarily frozen the 30 per cent subject-wise minimum mark criteria in written examinations for SSLC and upper-class students for the current academic session.

PTI