Waqf Board can initiate criminal proceedings in post-2013 Waqf land encroachment cases

A Single Judge of the Kerala High Court quashed the proceedings against two people in an alleged pre-2013 land encroachment case on Tuesday by noting that such acts were made punishable only through an amendment to the Waqf Act in 2013, the accused were in possession of the property even before the introduction of the amendment, and no penal acts could be given retrospective operation

The Kerala Waqf Board can continue to proceed legally against Waqf land encroachment cases in Kerala. However, it has been forbidden from initiating criminal proceedings against alleged individual encroachers in pre-2013 Waqf land encroachment cases.

A Single Judge of the Kerala High Court quashed the proceedings against two people in an alleged pre-2013 land encroachment case on Tuesday by noting that such acts were made punishable only through an amendment to the Waqf Act in 2013, the accused were in possession of the property even before the introduction of the amendment, and no penal acts could be given retrospective operation.

Though the Single Judge has quashed the criminal proceedings in the case, the case regarding the restoration of alleged Waqf property that was rented out for running a post office in Kozhikode is continuing, Waqf Board sources said

However, the board can initiate criminal proceedings in all post-2013 Waqf land encroachment cases as the amendment to the Waqf Act has empowered the board for such proceedings. The Tuesday order of the court is restricted to pre-2013 cases, according to legal experts.

Meanwhile, the board authorities maintained that they had stopped prosecution proceedings against alleged individual encroachers in pre-2013 cases three years ago following a 2021 order from the High Court.

Justice K. Haripal of the Kerala High Court had quashed the proceedings initiated by the board against a woman from Kannur under Section 52 A in 2021 on the ground that a penal provision cannot have retrospective operation. Since the High Court order, no proceedings were initiated in pre-2013 cases, they said.

Besides the High Court order, Article 20 (1) of the Constitution prevents retrospective imposition of punishment whereby no person can be punished for an act that was not an offence at the time of its commission, which is the cardinal principle of the criminal justice system, pointed out legal sources.

The Single Judge’s order had triggered wide discussions in legal and social circles as a controversy over the Munambam land issue was raging in the State.

The protest of around 404 families of Munambam, who harbour the fear of being evicted from their holdings, which they reportedly inherited or purchased from Farook College, Kozhikode, had attracted national attention. The Farook College had moved the Kerala Waqf Tribunal, Kozhikode, against the Kerala Waqf Board’s decision to enlist the land as a Waqf property.

Published - November 13, 2024 08:00 pm IST