On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court order to take over of land allotted to Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust at Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur. The Allahabad High Court had allowed the state to take over the land allotted to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University owned by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.
According to the reports, the state government of Uttar Pradesh 2005 had allotted 400 acres of land against a ceiling of 12.5 acres (5.0586 hectares) to establish the university. The permission was granted based on various conditions. However, in 2020, the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Rampur found out that the Trust had violated the conditions by illegally constructing a mosque on the premises.
Based on the report submitted by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, the state government in the year 2021 declared that the land over 12.5 acres given to the University, would remain the state’s property. The Trust argued that the mosque was built for the teachers and non-teaching staff who are residing on the university premise.
The Trust later knocked on the doors of the High Court who dismissed the petition saying that the SDM report clearly stated that the construction of the Mosque on the land allotted was a violation of conditions and that the Trust had failed to use the land strictly for educational purposes. “The argument that the campus had residential premises for teaching as well as non-teaching staff, a ‘Mosque’ was constructed for them cannot be accepted as it goes against the permission granted by the state,” noted the Court.
The land was allotted in the year 2005 to the Trust under Section 154(2) of U.P. Zamindari Abolition & Land Reforms Act, 1950. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Justice CT Ravikumar on April 18 also issued notice on a plea filed by the Trust challenging the High Court’s decision and has listed the matter for the next hearing in August.