The Supreme Court on Tuesday (21 July) removed a key part of the Kerala High Court's interim order that had directed the Kerala State Waqf Board to function under the supervision of the State government's Joint Secretary dealing with waqf matters. While granting partial relief to the Board, the Court left the remaining interim restrictions untouched and requested the High Court to hear and decide the pending Public Interest Litigations (PILs) at the earliest.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi passed the order while hearing the Waqf Board's appeal.
Background of the Case
The dispute arose after the Kerala High Court, on July 15, passed an interim order while hearing PILs challenging the constitution of the Kerala State Waqf Board. The petitioners argued that the Board had not been constituted in accordance with the amended law because two non-Muslim members, whose inclusion was claimed to be mandatory under Section 14 of as amended in 2025, had not been appointed.
Taking a prima facie view, the High Court restrained the Board from taking major policy decisions or incurring capital expenditure without the court's permission. It also directed that the Board should function under the supervision of the State's Joint Secretary dealing with waqf matters until further orders.
The Kerala State Waqf Board challenged this supervisory direction before the Supreme Court, arguing that it had been passed without giving the Board an opportunity to respond.
Court's Observations
During the hearing, the Bench questioned the need to place the Board under government supervision when the High Court had already restricted it from making major policy decisions.
The Court observed,
"There is no necessity to retain the last part of the interim order directing that the Board shall function under the supervision of the Joint Secretary."
The Bench clarified that the Joint Secretary would continue to remain a member of the Waqf Board in that capacity alone and would not exercise any supervisory authority over its functioning.
The Supreme Court also made it clear that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the dispute regarding the Board's constitution.
Supreme Court's Decision
Partly allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court deleted the Kerala High Court's direction requiring the Kerala State Waqf Board to function under the supervision of the State government's Joint Secretary.
At the same time, the Court noted that the PILs were already listed before the High Court and requested it to decide the matter expeditiously after giving all parties a fair opportunity to file their claims, counter-claims and present their arguments.
The appeal was accordingly disposed of.
Case Details
Case Title: The Kerala State Waqf Board and Others v. Shone George and Others
Case Number: SLP (Civil) No. 24194 of 2026
Judge: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi
Decision Date: July 21, 2026
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