The Uttar Pradesh government has reclaimed 170 acres of land of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, run by a trust headed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, officials said on Friday.
The development came after the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a plea against proceedings initiated by the Uttar Pradesh government to take over the university land for non-adherence to certain conditions on which it was granted to a trust in 2005.
A team of the Local Revenue Department employees went to the university on Thursday to complete the formalities of reclaiming 170 acres of land, officials said.
“The property of the government returns in the hands of the government. This is Modi-Yogi rule,” said Shalabh Mani Tripathi, the media advisor of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Along with the tweet in Hindi, he tagged media reports of the development.
Established in 2006, the university is run by the Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust. Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan is the president of the trust and the Chancellor of the university which had run into trouble over allegations of irregularities and land encroachment.
Mr. Khan and his son Abdullah, who is also an active member of the trust, are currently lodged in the Sitapur jail.
Citing the SDM’s report, the Allahabad High Court said a mosque was constructed over the land which was only for educational purposes. Thus, it is a violation of the permission granted by the State government.
In 2005, the then Samajwadi Party government enacted the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Act, paving the way for the creation of the university.
Thereafter, the State government granted permission to the Trust to acquire 400 acres of land against the ceiling of 12.5 acres for the establishment of the University while imposing certain conditions, one of which was that the land will be used only for educational purposes.
According to law, if such a condition is violated, the permission granted by the State government stands withdrawn.
