The lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has issued a notice to Advocate General on a PIl challenging grant of minority status to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur.
The notice has been issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dhananjay Y Chandrachud and Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhaya on a public interest litigation (PIl) filed by non-governmental organisation Hindu Front for Justice.
The court has given four weeks’ time to the Advocate General to reply to the notice.
The PIl has challenged the Act passed by the state legislature and its approval by the Governor, granting minority status to the Jauhar University with 50 per cent seats reserved for the minorities.
The NGO has also claimed that the UP legislature has no power to grant minority status to any university.
Earlier, UP’s acting Governor Aziz Qureshi had given his approval to the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University (Amendment) Bill, 2007.
The Amendment Bill has given minority status to the Rampur-based private university, promoted by UP Cabinet minister Mohammad Azam Khan.
It has also made the university’s de-recognition process difficult.
The Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Act, 2005 to establish the university had come into force on September 5, 2006 during the regime of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.