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2025 Supreme(Online)(Ker) 58237
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
ANIL K. NARENDRAN, MURALEE KRISHNA S., JJ
K.T.MUHAMMED ALI – Appellant
Versus
MARAKKARUTTY. T.E – Respondent
WA NO. 2363 OF 2025 | WP(C) NO.13024 OF 2025
For the Appellants/Petitioners: SHRI.NIRMAL.S
For the Respondents: SRI.AUGUSTINE JOSEPH, SRI.GEORGE RENOY, SHRI.ARJUN REMANAN, SHRI.JAMSHEED HAFIZ
The authority of a Wakf Board to interfere in the management of a society and its schools was determined, with implications for administered governance.
Headnote:In this judgment, the court examined the legality of an order passed by the Single Judge concerning the management of a registered Society and its schools. The 1st respondent claimed interference by the Wakf Board, which the appellant contended was unjustifiable. The court found merit in the appeal, taking into account the circumstances surrounding the management and implications of relevant authority regulations. The final outcome stayed the interim order appointing an Advocate Commissioner for conducting elections but left other contentions unaddressed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. legality of the wakf board's interference in societal management. (Para 1 , 2 , 4) |
| 2. effective acknowledgment of governance protocols within judicial considerations. (Para 3 , 5 , 6) |
| 3. finalization of prior orders concerning election management. (Para 7) |
JUDGMENT
Muralee Krishna, J.
The 4th respondent in W.P.(C) No.13024 of 2025 filed this intra-court appeal under Section 5 (i) of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958 , challenging Ext.P5 order dated 16.09.2025 passed by the learned Single Judge in that writ petition.
2. According to the 1st respondent-writ petitioner, he is the Secretary of a registered Society conducting aided schools. The President of the Society will be the Manager of the schools. From 2014 onwards, the President of the Society, namely, one T. Moideenkutty, is the Manager of the school. As per the byelaw, the tenure of the Managing Committee is only two years. Hence, the District Educational Officer extended the approval of the President as Manager till 30.01.2025. Thereafter, the District Educational Officer did not approve the Manager, stating Ext.P5 order dated 30.05.2024 of the Wakf Board restricting the election to the Society. Contending that the Society and schools are not Wakf properties and hence the Wakf Board has no power to interfere in the administration and election of the society, and also contending that the District Educational Officer is not approving the appointment of the Manager, the 1st respondent-writ petitioner filed W.P.(C)No.13024 of 2025, seeking the following reliefs:
“(i) issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction to the 1st respondent to approve the appointment of Sri.T.Moideenkutty as Manager of the schools as provided in Rule 4 (1) and (2A) of Chapter III of the Kerala Education Rules.
(ii) declare that the Tharbiyathul Islam Sangham, Parappur and the schools AUP school, IU High School and IU HSS are not wakf property and hence the 2nd respondent has no jurisdiction to interfere in the election and administration of the petitioner society and the schools.
(iii) issue a writ of prohibition or any other writ, order or direction to the 2nd respondent to interfere in the administration of the petitioner Society.
(iv) issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction to the 1st respondent to consider the approval of Sri.T.Moideenkutty as Manager of the schools untrammelled by Ext.P5 of the Wakf Board”.
3. In the writ petition, the appellant-4th respondent filed a counter affidavit dated 10.07.2025 opposing the reliefs sought and producing therewith Exts.R4(a) to R4(c) documents. Thereafter, the 1st respondent-writ petitioner filed a reply affidavit dated 06.08.2025, producing therewith Exts.P9 to P12 documents. Along with I.A.No.3 of 2025, the appellant-4th respondent produced Exts.R4(d) to R4(i) documents.
4. On 16.09.2025, when W.P.(C)No.13024 of 2025, along with W.P.(C)No.30341 of 2025, which is one filed by the Manager, IU Higher Secondary School, Parappur, Kottakkal, came up for consideration, the learned Single Judge passed the impugned order appointing an Advocate Commissioner to conduct election to the Managing Committee of Tharbiyathul Islam Sangham. At the time of passing the interim order dated 16.09.2025, I.A. No. 2 of 2025 in W.P.(C)No.13024 of 2025 filed by the appellant-4th respondent, seeking an order to vacate the interim order dated 01.04.2025 in that writ petition was pending consideration. Feeling aggrieved by the non-consideration of I.A. No.2 of 2025, while passing the impugned order dated 16.09.2025 and also the directions contained therein to appoint an Advocate Commissioner to conduct an election to the Managing Committee of Tharbiyathul Islam Sangham, the appellant-4th respondent filed the present intra-court appeal.
5. On 08.10.2025, when this writ appeal was taken up for consideration, during the course of arguments, the learned counsel for the 1st respondent–writ petitioner would submit that O.A.No.142 of 2025 f
