UP government reclaims 170 acres land of Azam Khan's Jauhar University in Rampur

Rampur: The Uttar Pradesh government has reclaimed 170 acres of land of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University here, 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.

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According to law, if such a condition is violated, the permission granted by the state government stands withdrawn.

Azam Khan discharged from hospital, taken back to Sitapur jail Khan, who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital was discharged and sent back to Sitapur jail on Friday, officials said.

Khan, 72, was admitted to Medanta hospital on 19 July due to post-Covid syndrome, including difficulty in breathing and weakness, an official statement of the hospital said.

After improvement in his health, he was discharged from the hospital at about 1.30 pm, it added.

Khan, the SP MP from Rampur, was sent back to Sitapur jail, where he was lodged after a number of cases including that of land grabbing were filed against him.

The hospital said Khan was also given a Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine dose a week ago.

Khan had tested positive for COVID-19 in May this year while being in jail.

With PTI inputs