Shopian court orders reopening of Siraj-ul-Uloom, allows resumption of educational activities
Shopian, Sep 25, KNT:The Principal and Sessions Judge Shopian has directed the reopening of Darul Uloom Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom at Hillow, Imam Sahib, allowing the institution to resume educational activities while the proceedings concerning its status remain pending.
The court passed the order on an application seeking interim relief against the continued closure of the institution, which had been shut after the Jammu and Kashmir administration declared it an unlawful entity under Section 8(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in April this year.
The court directed that the institution be permitted to reopen and continue educational activities until the matter is finally adjudicated.
The order also provides for constitution of a three-member supervisory committee to oversee the functioning of the institution after reopening. According to counsel representing the institution, the committee will include an officer from the Education Department, an officer from the administration and a respectable member from Shopian.
The court has further directed that the reopening be publicized through newspapers and other media so that students who had left the institution can return without hindrance.
The interim application was filed while the main proceedings remain pending. Counsel for the institution said arguments on the application were heard over seven days before the court passed the interim directions.
The administration had declared the institution an unlawful entity in April on the basis of a dossier alleging sustained and covert links with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, besides citing alleged legal, administrative and financial irregularities. The institution has disputed the allegations.
The latest order provides interim relief on the reopening of the institution and does not finally determine the allegations or the legal status of the institution, which remain subject to adjudication in the pending proceedings. [KNT]
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