Govt had told HC to reject petition on Waqf Board reconstitution, says CM Satheesan; P.Rajeeve contests claim

Rejecting allegations that the United Democratic Front (UDF) had told the High Court that it will appoint non-Muslims in the Waqf Board as per the Union government’s Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Act, or the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said that the government had asked the court to reject the petition.

The Chief Minister’s comments on Wednesday came in the wake of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State Secretariat on Tuesday flagging growing resentment against the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) from within the minority community for “endorsing” the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Addressing a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he said that the Waqf Board appointed by the previous Left Democratic Front had also told the Supreme Court that the HC refused to reject the petition despite the State government’s demand.

“What is the need for a controversy when the government has made its stand clear? The previous Waqf Board’s term ended in December 2024. However, it was not reconstituted until February 2026, after the Union government brought in the amendments. If the new Board was formed as soon as the term ended, it would have remained so even if the new amendments had come into force,” he said.

However, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Law Minister P. Rajeeve accused the CM of misleading the public, even as the State government’s stand in the HC and the SC are available in the public domain. Addressing a press conference, he reiterated that the government said in the HC on July 14, 2026 through the special government pleader that it “is prepared to reconstitute the Board strictly in compliance with the mandate of the section 14 of the UMEED Act”, which means the inclusion of two non-Muslims.

“When the government has agreed to carry out the plea completely, what use is its claim that it asked the court to reject the petition? Kerala and Tamil Nadu had kept the two positions vacant until the SC hears the case related to the amendments. The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has filled the position with RSS-linked people. Tamil Nadu has not changed its position, although there has been a change in government. But the UDF government in Kerala has taken a stand which deceives the Muslim community,” said Mr. Rajeeve.

He also rejected the CM’s allegation that the LDF government had wilfully delayed the reconstitution of the Waqf Board by citing similar precedents in the past, including in 2013 when the UDF was in power. Though the term of the Waqf Board ended in October 2013, it was reconstituted only a year later, with an administrator running the Board during the intervening period.