New Delhi: The Supreme Court has removed the Kerala High Court's direction requiring the Kerala State Waqf Board to function under the supervision of the government's Joint Secretary. However, it has retained the restriction that the Board cannot take policy or other major decisions without the High Court's prior permission.

The apex court also directed the Kerala High Court to hear all parties and dispose of the case expeditiously.

The Kerala High Court had earlier ordered that the Board should not take policy decisions or incur capital expenditure without the court's approval. The HC had also directed that the Board should function under the supervision of the Joint Secretary handling Waqf affairs.  

The Kerala State Waqf Board and petitioner Umar Faizi had sought a complete stay of the High Court's interim order. They argued that the Supreme Court had granted similar relief in a case involving the Madras High Court and requested the same relief for Kerala. The Supreme Court, however, granted only partial relief.

The Supreme Court observed that the High Court's order was only an interim order. Chief Justice Surya Kant said that since the Board was already functioning under the High Court's supervision, there was no need for an additional layer of oversight by the government.

The court deleted the direction placing the Board under the supervision of the Joint Secretary. It clarified that the Joint Secretary dealing with Waqf affairs would continue only in the capacity of a Board member.

The restriction preventing the Board from taking policy decisions or other significant decisions without the High Court's permission remains in force.  

Board alleges political backing for petition

During the hearing, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Kerala State Waqf Board, alleged that the state government had supported in the High Court a petition filed by a leader of a political party. According to Ahmadi, the petitioner had argued that the Board should be reconstituted because it did not include non-Muslim members.

Appearing for the state government, senior advocate Jaideep Gupta defended the High Court's interim order before the Supreme Court. He argued that the dispute extended beyond the inclusion of non-Muslim members and also involved the qualifications of Board members. Gupta opposed a complete stay of the High Court's order.

The state government was represented by senior advocates Jaideep Gupta and MR Ramesh Babu, along with Standing Counsel Marzooq Thangal. The Kerala State Waqf Board was represented by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi and advocate KR Subhash Chandran, while senior advocate V Chitambaresh appeared for Umar Faizi. Senior advocates K Parameshwar and Shaji P Chaly appeared for the intervenors, and senior advocate PV Dinesh represented the Waqf Samrakshana Samithi, which has sought to intervene in the case.