14 october 2024 : The Supreme Court on Monday berated Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh (UP) minister Azam Khan, labelling the lease of government land to his Maulana Mohamad Ali Jauhar Trust in Rampur as a “misuse of office”, as it affirmed the state government’s decision to take back the land that the Trust had been leasing since 2015.
“The admitted facts on the record show that the allotment of land was a clear misuse of the office of the minister,” a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, said while dismissing an appeal by the Trust challenging the state government’s order.
The bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, pointed out that Khan, who was a cabinet minister for urban development and minority welfare at the time of the allotment, was responsible for granting the land lease to a family trust in which he holds lifetime membership.
The top court observed that the lease arrangement was initially intended for a government institute, yet it had been redirected to a private trust.
“How can a lease intended for a government institute be diverted to a private trust?” questioned the bench, further noting that Khan’s ministerial role in the allotment process raised serious ethical concerns.
Representing the Trust, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that the Trust had not received adequate notice prior to the cancellation of the lease, adding that proper notice and reasons were essential for the Trust to respond effectively. However, the court countered that in light of the apparent misuse of office, the lack of proper notice was not a substantial issue. “Mr Sibal, the facts are gross… we will leave it at this,” the CJI said.
At this point, Sibal emphasised the Trust’s role in providing affordable education to underprivileged students, noting that it charged as little as twenty rupees for five percent of its student body. He described the Trust as a not-for-profit entity, asserting that 300 students were left without a school due to the government’s decision. The bench, while finding no flaw in the Allahabad High Court’s earlier decision upholding the government’s action, instructed the state’s education department to ensure suitable educational arrangements for these displaced students.
Khan is currently lodged in Sitapur jail in Uttar Pradesh, following his conviction in different cases, including forced eviction. In 2022, he lost his UP assembly membership following his conviction in a hate speech case.
The Allahabad high court had dismissed the Trust’s petition on March 18, supporting the Uttar Pradesh government’s March 31, 2023, decision to cancel the lease. Allegations of “nepotism” and “misuse of office” were central to the high court’s ruling, with claimed that Khan exploited his ministerial position to transfer valuable state land to his private trust.
The land in question, originally earmarked for the construction of a training and research institute, was transferred to the Trust in 2015 through a lease agreement with the governor of Uttar Pradesh. This transfer took place during the tenure of the Samajwadi Party government, where Khan served as a senior minister.
However, following a change in government in 2017, complaints surfaced regarding the Trust’s operations, prompting the state to initiate an investigation. In response to a special investigation team’s (SIT) findings, the Uttar Pradesh government revoked the Trust’s lease in January 2023.
