New Delhi: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Kerala High Court verdict that imposed temporary restrictions on the functioning of the Kerala State Waqf Board. The State Waqf Board and board member Umar Faizi have approached the apex court, seeking an immediate stay on the High Court ruling and the restoration of the board's functioning to its status quo ante.

The Kerala High Court had ruled that the board must not take any policy or major decisions, nor incur any capital expenditure, without the court's prior permission. The High Court had also directed that the board's operations would temporarily be monitored by the Joint Secretary handling Waqf affairs. Following this order, the functioning of the Waqf Board has virtually ground to a halt. In this context, the board and Umar Faizi approached the Supreme Court through advocate K R Subhash Chandran, requesting an urgent stay on the High Court order.

The Kerala High Court had passed the interim order while considering Public Interest Litigation (PIL)s filed by BJP leader Shaun George against the non-inclusion of two non-Muslim members in the Kerala Waqf Board. The petitioner contended that, as per the 2025 Amendment to the Act, it is mandatory to have at least two non-Muslim members on the Waqf Board.

The Pinarayi Vijayan Government had issued the notification reconstituting the Waqf Board without filling the vacancies for these two members in accordance with the amended law. Shaun George's petition before the Kerala High Court had also sought a direction to nominate two non-Muslim members to the board.