The decision constitutes a major victory for the civil rights advocacy group, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights
SAMBHAL — The Allahabad High Court has recently provided crucial relief to Azad Jannat Nisha School, a long-standing educational institution in the Uttar Pradesh city of Sambhal, amidst ongoing disputes over the ownership of the school’s land.
The decision of the division bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Harvir Singh constitutes a major victory for the civil rights advocacy group, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR). The group’s lawyers, Ghazala Bano and Maseeh Uddin, represented the school management in the court.
The petitioner, Mohammad Shahvez Alam, manager of the school, filed a suit before the court of the Civil Judge (Junior Division), asserting that he has been the rightful owner and occupant of the land since 1979. The petitioner’s father purchased the land from Nathua aka Ganga Prasad and Harprasad through a registered sale deed dated January 8, 1979. Now, the property is being claimed by their heirs.
The school, affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Board, currently runs classes from Nursery to Class 10. For decades, the school has been functioning peacefully and without interruption.
The ordeal started in January this year when senior officials, including the DM, SDM, policemen and local officials such as Tahsildar, Lekhpal, Nayab Lekhpal, along with a large group of men claiming ownership of the land, arrived at the school premises and threatened the owners. From January until June 2025, local leaders and authorities allegedly continued to visit the premises and threaten the owners periodically without any lawful order. On 15th May 2025, the administration allegedly demolished the school’s gate along with multiple classrooms, causing damage worth almost Rs 30 lakhs. The defendants also occupied parts of the school land, including the path to the school, which is also owned by the petitioner.
The petition said local authorities provided no relief; on the contrary, they chose to side with the trespassers. The dispute gained momentum in the wake of communal build-up post November 2024 violence in the city, which regards Muslims as “encroachers” on the lands of Hindu riot victims. Media reports said this sentiment has largely been perpetuated by local Hindutva groups and BJP leaders with the active support of the local administration.
Shahvez Alam contacted the Uttar Pradesh chapter of the APCR and filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court. He requested the court to restrain the defendants from interfering in the peaceful possession of the property and to prevent any attempts at dispossession.
During the court proceedings, the State clarified that there was no current plan to demolish the school building and assured the court that any such action in the future would only be carried out under due process of law. The court accordingly disposed of the petition on June 12, recording the State’s assurance.
