The Madhya Pradesh High Court has stayed the Mhow Cantonment Board’s demolition notice at the ancestral home of Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chancellor of Al-Falah University, who is now under investigation in connection with the Delhi blast case. The stay was granted on Thursday, a day after Siddiqui’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on November 18, following raids at the university and related locations.
The Cantonment Board had issued the demolition notice on November 19, giving occupants three days to remove what it called “unauthorised construction” or face demolition and cost recovery from legal heirs or residents. Abdul Majid, a 59-year-old resident of the house, challenged the notice, claiming that Siddiqui had gifted him the property in 2021 under hiba, an Islamic gift, after the death of his father, Hammad Ahmed. Majid asserts ownership based on the hibanama.
Speaking in court, Majid’s lawyer, Ajay Bagadia, said, “The petitioner should be given an opportunity to be heard.” The Cantonment Board’s lawyer, Ashutosh Nimgaonkar, argued that earlier notices had gone unanswered and that no further time should be allowed.
Justice Pranay Verma noted that the previous notices had been issued almost 30 years ago, in 1996-97, and said, “If any action was to be taken against the petitioner after a period of almost 30 years from the date of issuance of the previous notice, he ought to have been afforded an opportunity of hearing.” The court directed that Majid submit his reply along with relevant documents within 15 days, after which he will be given a proper hearing and a reasoned order. The court added that no coercive action should be taken against him until the process is complete and for ten days thereafter.
Siddiqui, a native of Mhow, is at the centre of an investigation spanning multiple states. His father, Hammad Ahmed, served as the town qazi for decades, and the house in question, number 1371 in Mukeri Mohalla, remains registered in his name.
