BJP Keralam vice president Adv. Shon George (Left)
BJP Keralam vice president Adv. Shon George has welcomed the Supreme Court verdict of July 21 on the Kerala State Waqf Board. He said the apex court has accepted all the arguments the BJP had submitted before the Kerala High Court and the subsequent Kerala High Court verdict of July 15, 2026.
The Supreme Court delivered its order regarding the Kerala State Waqf Board on July 21, 2026. The three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, modified an earlier Kerala High Court order that had restrained the Board from taking major decisions.
While the Supreme Court declined to immediately stay the High Court’s curbs on the Board’s major financial and capital expenditure, pending resolution of the Board’s composition under the recent Amendment Act, it explicitly deleted the High Court’s directive requiring the Waqf Board to function under the supervision of the state government’s Joint or Additional Secretary.
Shon George pointed out that the Supreme Court has rejected only one particular directive of the Kerala High Court — the direction to temporarily place the Waqf Board’s activities under the departmental Joint or Additional Secretary.
He said the BJP’s stand is that the Waqf Board should be constituted in accordance with the law prevailing in the country. The High Court had also stated in its verdict that the state government is liable to comply with the law.
The BJP leader stated that the Supreme Court has not taken any stand against the High Court verdict. Rather, it has left the remaining matters for the High Court’s decision. Therefore, he said, the verdict is very much welcome. According to him, the Supreme Court has rejected only the last sentence of the High Court order, which assigned the departmental secretary as the administrator.
The Supreme Court was hearing the petition filed by the Waqf Board against the High Court order freezing the Board’s activities. The petition was heard by a Bench presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Shon George and some others had submitted writ petitions during the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the Waqf Board’s judicial meeting was held in Kozhikode on July 21 while the High Court’s freezing order remained in force. The Waqf Board Chairman clarified that there was no legal obstacle.
On June 11, 2026, the Kerala High Court heard a PIL seeking an interim restraint against the Kerala State Waqf Board from functioning until two non-Muslim members were nominated to the body, as mandated under Section 14(1) of the amended Act. The State sought time to obtain instructions, following which the court adjourned the matter and directed the State to file an affidavit.
On July 15, 2026, the High Court took on record a statement filed by the State, which conceded that the Waqf Board needed to be reconstituted in strict compliance with Section 14 of the Act.
While reacting to the criticism, Shon George said the BJP’s stance has never been against the Waqf Board or the Muslim community. “What we are saying is that the Waqf Board must operate in accordance with the law. Portraying this as a move against the Muslim community is part of the Muslim League’s political agenda. The BJP has no such agenda,” he said.
He further said: “There is another important question in this matter. In an issue of such gravity, were the actions taken by the state government unknown to the minister from the Muslim League? In a democratic country, the government cannot file an affidavit or take a stand contrary to the existing law. Some may succeed in spreading misconceptions. However, with the Waqf (Amendment) Act in place, the Waqf Board must operate in accordance with it.”
