Allahabad HC grants interim bail to Azam Khan in enemy property case

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Samajwadi Party leader and MP Mohd Azam Khan in a case registered under enemy property law.

The court had directed the district magistrate to take possession of the enemy property situated on the campus of Jauhar University and raise a boundary wall and barbed wire around it, thereby taking the actual physical possession of the property in dispute on behalf of the Administrator of Evacuee Property, Mumbai by June 30.

Justice Rahul Chaturvedi further directed that on completion of the above-mentioned exercise of taking over the possession of the land, to the satisfaction of the DM, Rampur, the interim bail of Azam Khan shall be converted into regular bail.

To recall, the land in dispute relates to one Imamuddin Quereshi s/o late Badruddeen Qureshi, earlier resident of Lucknow, who after the partition, relinquished the citizenship of India, migrated to Pakistan during 1947-49 and turned a citizen of Pakistan.

As per the provisions of Section -8 of “The Administration of Evacuee Property Act, 1950” the property left by Qureshi was declared as Evacuee Property and vested with the ‘Custodian’ of the State.

The land in dispute measuring 13.842 hectares situated in Singhan Khera village, Pargana and Tehsil Sadar, Rampur district was the focal issue of the entire controversy of the bail application.

Imran Ullah appearing for Azam Khan argued that no constructions were raised on the disputed land. It was lying vacant, encircled by land of the university.

On this, the court questioned how and under what circumstances the property in question was encircled within the university premises, and later observed,” Imran Ullah fairly conceded that since the adjacent properties were purchased by the university/trust, and thus this is the only reason for encircling the enemy property within the university campus without any authority of land or good title over the land in question. This, in fact is startling revelation, whereby it has been conceded by the counsel that in no uncertain terms the modus operandi of ‘encircling the enemy property’ in most abnormal and surreptitious way.” “This in fact a new jurisprudence by which a disputed landed property could be grabbed, without even semblance of good title,” added justice Chaturvedi.

The court, while allowing the bail plea, observed, “However, as bail is a right of any accused and jail is exception, therefore, on humanitarian ground this court, keeping in view the applicant’s deteriorating health, old age and the period undergone in jail, is considering the application of bail be allowed by imposing following conditions.”

The court had directed Azam Khan to surrender his passport and not to seek unnecessary adjournment during trial.