New Delhi: The long-running Munambam land dispute has taken a fresh turn after the Kerala Waqf Board intimated its decision to withdrew its Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the Kerala High Court verdict, which had declared the property was not Waqf land. The board informed the Supreme Court of its decision on Friday and secured time to file an appeal. 

The Waqf Protection Committee had earlier challenged the High Court ruling, arguing that the Munambam land case was already pending before the Tribunal.

The committee contended that the High Court should not have intervened while the matter was under tribunal consideration and urged the Supreme Court to examine whether the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court directed that the current status of the Munambam land remain unchanged.

K.R. Subhash Chandran, representing the Waqf Board, informed the court about the petition withdrawal and requested additional time to prepare an appeal against the High Court verdict.

Senior state government lawyers, Jaydeep Gupta and standing counsel C.K. Shashi, also sought more time to respond to the Supreme Court notices. The bench, comprising Justices Manoj Mishra and Manmohan, approved the requests.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued an interim order to maintain the status quo.

The Waqf Protection Committee, represented by counsel Abdulla Naseeh, requested an extension of this interim order, which the court also granted.