Plea in High Court against MES to vacate Waqf land in Kozhikode

The court had earlier asked the MES to shift from there by February 26, 2025

The caretaker of Puthiya Ponmanichantakam family Waqf properties, P.P. Koyatti, has filed a review petition in the Kerala High Court saying that additional time should not be given to the Muslim Educational Society (MES), which runs the MES Fathima Gafoor Memorial Women’s College at Nadakkavu in Kozhikode on a waqf property, to vacate the premises.

The court had earlier asked the MES to shift from there by February 26, 2025.

Mr. Koyatti told the media on Wednesday (November 27) that the 79 cents of land was given on lease to the MES for 50 years in 1975. Initially, the monthly rent was ₹150. In 1991, it was revised to ₹2,720, Mr. Koyatti claimed. However, he said that since 2014, the MES had not been paying the amount. The dues would be more than ₹2.7 lakh.

The waqf custodians filed a complaint in 2016 with the Waqf Tribunal, which ordered the MES to vacate the property. The MES later approached the High Court, which asked the society to maintain the status quo till February 26, 2025, the day on which the lease period would expire. The court said the Waqf Board could conduct an auction to select a new lessee thereafter.

Mr. Koyatti’s mother, P.P. Ummayyabi, is the current ‘mutavalli’ or trustee of the waqf properties. Their demand is that the MES be considered as an encroacher on the property and immediate steps be taken to vacate it. MES functionaries could not be reached for comments.

Published - November 27, 2024 07:51 pm IST