The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached land and buildings belonging to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, valued at ₹426.46 crore in connection with a money-laundering investigation against the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, its founder Mohammad Azam Khan, and others.
The attached properties are estimated to command a current market value of approximately ₹1,170 crore. Khan, a jailed Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister, is among the accused in the case.
The ED launched its investigation following 26 FIRs registered at Rampur’s Azim Nagar Police Station under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other provisions. The complaints alleged that agricultural land belonging to local farmers had been forcibly acquired by Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, the Indian Express reported.
It accused the jailed 78-year-old Samajwadi Party leader used his influence as the Cabinet minister of Urban Development and the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam for these alleged irregularities.
Furthermore, a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the 59 building property.
“It will move to court. Then the court will decide the permanent status,” Jauhar University students told FoEJ Media.
“The university campus at Jauhar Nagar, Village Singhankhera, Rampur, is held by the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which was founded and is controlled by Mohammad Azam Khan, who is also the honorary chancellor of the university,” the ED said.
“According to an inquiry report of the Rampur district administration, 45 plots of enemy property measuring about 34 acres at Village Singhankhera were also illegally occupied for the university, even after the custodian had cancelled the lease of that land to the trust. The Custodian of Enemy Property, Ministry of Home Affairs, has since taken back possession through the district administration,” an ED spokesperson said in a statement.
“That information was shared with the Uttar Pradesh Police under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, leading to FIR No. 0224/2026 dated October 13 this year, at PS Azeem Nagar against Azam Khan, the Trust, and others under Sections 61, 316(5), and 318(4) of the BNS, 2023, and Sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988,” the spokesperson said.
In a report dated November 10, 2023, the District Valuation Officer independently assessed the construction cost of the university’s 59 buildings at ₹494.46 crore.
“The University’s land, acquired through 114 sale deeds, was valued at Rs 4.63 crore, putting the total campus cost at Rs 499.09 crore. Against this, the Trust has shown capital expenditure of only Rs 78.32 crore in its Income Tax Returns. Of that, donations of Rs 12.29 crore were found to be non-genuine, leaving Rs 66.03 crore as genuine expenditure – with Rs 72.63 crore of the campus cost explained from legitimate sources in all. The balance of Rs 426.46 crore is treated as the proceeds of crime, which the trust’s office-bearers could not substantiate,” the spokesperson said as highlighted by the Indian Express.
The investigation highlighted that the government funds that were meant for public works were used towards the university, and government-funded projects were executed on its private campus.
The ED stated that the managing director of a company awarded Public Works Department (PWD) contracts worth approximately ₹186 crore had allegedly disclosed that 30 to 40 per cent of the contract value was spent on procuring construction materials for Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.
The agency further alleged that partners of another firm told investigators that they operated under Azam Khan’s influence and that the company had contributed ₹40 lakh to the trust as a donation.
The ED also alleged that development works valued at ₹6.6 crore were carried out on the university’s private campus using funds from the MLA/MLC Local Area Development Scheme. According to the agency, the works were executed by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, which was headed by Khan at the time.
The raids were carried out by the agency in August, and Khan was also questioned. Khan is currently lodged in Rampur jail for multiple criminal charges.
