Christian Organisation From Kerala 'CASA' Approaches Supreme Court Supporting Waqf Amendment Act

In its application, CASA, which is a registered association under the Societies Registration Act, represented through its State President, Kerala, states that the outcome of these petitions will "directly affect the interest of the Christian community".

The application says the result of the adjudication will have a "direct bearing on the members of the petitioner association and also the residents and property owners of Munambam" in Ernakulam District, Kerala.

It has asserted in its application that over 600 Christian families residing on more than 400 acres in Munambam would be directly impacted by the decision of the Apex Court. According to the application, “The petitioner most humbly seeks impleadment in this Writ Petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, which primarily relates to the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, as the outcome of this writ petition will directly affect the interest of the Christian community. The subject matter of the writ petition is of direct interest to the members of the petitioner association, especially those who are residing at Munambam in the Ernakulam district, which comes to more than 600 families.”

The residents in Munambam, CASA states, have been living on and paying taxes for the said land for over three decades, having purchased the property through registered documents. As per the application, the dispute stems from a deed dated November 1, 1950, purportedly executed by one Mohammed Siddique Sait, which allegedly endowed the land to the Feroke College Managing Committee for educational purposes. CASA has contended, “This deed cannot be considered a waqf deed by any stretch of imagination as the person who assigned the property as waqf had no possession of the same and the deed also included a revocation clause.”

The application further relies on the definition of waqf under the Musselman Waqf Act, 1923, in force at the time, and states that any reclamation of the property would nullify the waqf status. It claims that residents were in possession of the land even when the deed was executed and that the Kerala High Court, as early as September 30, 1975, had declared the deed to be a gift deed, not a waqf deed.

It has been stated in the application, “…the deed of 1950 was only a gift deed for all intent and purposes, not a waqf deed. That as per the report of enquiry commission headed by Shri. M.A. Nisar, it is declared that the property mentioned is the waqf property for the mere reason that the CEO of the waqf declared the same to be waqf property. The aforesaid properties were not included in the Asset Register until the year 2019 the mentioned properties including asset register of waqf board. The alienation of the property took place during the interregnum period between 1988 -1993. The properties were mutated in the names of residents who were in possession, occupation and enjoyment and they were making payment of revenue taxes on regular basis. The Declaration of property as waqf property on the basis of a legal document has been done unilaterally behind the back of actual stakeholders without even hearing them, despite the factum of long possession and occupation coupled with legally sustainable documents.”

CASA has asserted that the intervention application has become necessary because, following the inclusion of the properties in the Waqf Board’s asset register, after being registered as waqf property, the title deeds of the residents have been frozen. It states, “…the title deeds of the residents have been frozen, taking away the revenue rights of the resident on the property. Resultants the petitioners, the occupiers, owners, residents and tillers are not even in the position to pledge the property to meet their emergency domestic and financial needs, including for securing loans for their marriage of their children or for their educational needs.”

CASA has further sought impleadment on the ground that the residents of Munambam have already been pursuing cases before the Waqf Tribunal and are struggling to reclaim their revenue and property rights. It is therefore evident, the application states, that any decision rendered by the Supreme Court will have a direct bearing on both the members of the petitioner association as well as the residents and property owners of Munambam.

The Supreme Court has been hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Some of the petitioners who have filed petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The Court has recorded an undertaking by the Central government not to implement certain provisions of the Act.

Cause Title: Indian Union Muslim League & Ors v. Union of India & Ors. (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 295 of 2025)