Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has refused to entertain a petition filed by a businessman on behalf of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University against the demolition of its buildings, observing that the pleader is an outsider and not an official of the institution.When the writ petition came up for hearing, additional advocate general (AAG) Anup Trivedi, appearing on behalf of the state govt, raised a preliminary objection regarding its maintainability, saying, “This writ petition has been sworn by one Mohammad Yusuf, who is a businessman by occupation and has been appointed as a pairokar of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.”“The university is always represented through its registrar or any authorised official of the university. A stranger cannot approach the court on behalf of the university,” the AAG added.The question of demolition has resurfaced after the Rampur Development Authority (RDA) issued a demolition notice for 38 buildings at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, directing the management to remove the allegedly unauthorised structures within 15 days or face demolition.The action has once again brought the institution founded by senior Samajwadi Party functionary Azam Khan into the spotlight, reigniting both legal and political debates.Moradabad divisional commissioner Aunjaneya Kumar Singh on Monday stayed the proposed demolition of 38 buildings at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, halting the action while the matter remains under hearing before his courtMaulana Ali Jauhar University was founded by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan under the Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust in 2006. It was granted university status in 2012. The university has remained the centrepiece of Azam’s political legacy. Built across a sprawling campus in Rampur, the institution offers courses in medicine, engineering, law, agriculture, education and humanities, besides housing a medical college, hospital, hostels and residential facilities.On the preliminary objection regarding the maintainability of the petition, Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, in his order dated July 27, refused to entertain the matter, observing, “After going through the records of the writ petition, the court finds merit in the objection raised by the AAG appearing on behalf of the state. Still, the court finds that, in the interest of justice, the present writ petition can be disposed of so that the proceedings initiated against the petitioner trust/university are brought to their logical conclusion. Therefore, if the registrar of the university or the manager of the trust concerned files objections to the impugned notice, including the issue of jurisdiction, in the light of the judgments proposed to be cited within three weeks, the same shall be considered in accordance with law, after hearing all parties, by the state authority, which shall consider the issue of jurisdiction at the first instance expeditiously.”
