The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) have found themselves in a precarious position on the nomination of two non-Muslim members to the State Waqf Board.

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Section 14(1)(f) of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 provides that two members of the Board, excluding the ex officio members, shall be non-Muslim.

The previous LDF government, which reconstituted the Board during the fag end of its tenure, had appointed nine Muslims to the Board while leaving the two slots vacant, in an apparent bid not to rankle the Muslim community sentiments. Besides the Kerala government, the previous DMK-led Tamil Nadu government also took the same route, leading to litigation.

 However, the onus is now on the IUML and the UDF to take a call on the communally sensitive issue as BJP leader Shone George has moved the Kerala High Court challenging the non-inclusion of non-Muslims in the Board.

In his petition challenging the “unconstitutional functioning of the Kerala State Waqf Board,” Mr. George contended that the State government deliberately flouted the statutory provisions of the Act by nominating only Muslims. The State, which appointed only nine Muslim members, had tactically promised that the “remaining two members would be appointed shortly,” he argued.

He further argued that the Kerala Board “lacked jurisdiction, rendering all its administrative, supervisory, and quasi-judicial decisions null” and void ab initio. He also sought to declare the Board’s functioning as illegal, besides a direction to immediately nominate non-Muslims and to restrain it from functioning until it is lawfully constituted. The High Court has asked the State government to file an affidavit in the case in two weeks.

The IUML, which had challenged the 2025 Act in the Supreme Court, will have to firm up its stand on the issue, which may leave social and legal ramifications for the organisation, shortly.

The Supreme Court is yet to finally decide on the petitions of the League and the challenge to the act of the Tamil Nadu State government of not nominating the non-Muslims to the board.

Responding to the developments, the party State general secretary, P.M.A. Salam, said a decision on the issue will be taken after discussing it in the UDF. The party is of the view that the religious matters of a community shall be managed by the community members themselves. At the same time, the organisation realises that it cannot bypass the provisions of a central legislation. The League, which has held an inner-party deliberation on the issue, will present its views in the UDF. The party will also explore the legal ways to tackle the issue, he said.

N. Samsudheen, the Minister for Hajj, Waqf, and Minority Welfare, said the government will take a stand on the issue within a week after holding discussions in the party. The government will make its stand known in the court within the time limit, he said.