Allahabad HC rejects bail of Azam aide Masood Khan in land fraud

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court has rejected the bail application of Masood Khan, mutwalli of Waqf Imamuddin Qureshi. Masood was a close associate of senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohd Azam Khan.It is alleged that Masood had helped Azam to illegally grab properties registered under Enemies Properties Act and owned by the Central government to set up Jauhar University in Rampur district. Dismissing the bail application of Masood, Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, in his order dated January 27, observed: "Considering the fraud allegedly committed by the accused-applicant and other accused in usurping the huge chunk of the government land, this court is of the view that the accused- applicant is not entitled to be enlarged on bail, particularly when he obtained the order from the Supreme Court on certain conditions and he has not complied with them." As per the facts of the case, Azam was establishing Mohammad Ali Jauhar University. He allegedly thought that this huge chunk of land, which was declared as an enemy property and vested in the Central Government, would be appropriate for setting up the Jauhar university. He, therefore, along with the chairman of UP Shia Central Waqf Board, as well as the accused-applicant conspired to grab this huge chunk of land for setting up the university by manipulating, forging and destroying the relevant documents. This land was declared as Waqf property and the accused-applicant was appointed as mutawalli of this forged property, the Waqf Imamuddin Qureshi.Additional government advocate opposed the bail plea on the ground that the accused-applicant had earlier misled the apex court in a SLP, and obtained order in his favour by saying that his tenure as mutawalli was five years, which was already over.