The Rampur Development Authority (RDA) has ordered the demolition of 38 buildings at Muhammad Ali Jauhar University, which belongs to Samajwadi party leader Azam Khan. The basis for this decision is that the buildings were constructed without approved building plans, an official representative reported on Wednesday.
The order was issued in accordance with Section 27(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Town Planning and Development Act of 1973. The process began after a regional junior engineer submitted a report on alleged illegal constructions on the university premises. After receiving notification, the university provided its response on July 8, and a personal meeting was scheduled for July 15.
During the hearings, the university argued that the campus, located in the village of Singanhera, was outside the jurisdiction of the RDA until September 27, 2024, and therefore did not require its approval for construction. Furthermore, it insisted that the buildings were constructed significantly earlier and could not be deemed illegal under current regulations. However, the RDA rejected these arguments, stating that permission from the competent authority was mandatory at the time of construction, regardless of whether the area later fell under its jurisdiction.
According to the order, records from Rampur Panchayat showed that only the medical college and academic block had approved plans, while the other 38 buildings lacked valid permits. It was also noted that the university knew about the need to obtain permission, as it only received approval for two sanctioned buildings and built the rest without proper documentation. Consequently, the administration concluded that these structures violate the Uttar Pradesh Town Planning and Development Act and are subject to demolition.
Muhammad Ali Jauhar University, established in 2006 by an act of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, was one of Azam Khan's key projects. In recent years, it has been involved in legal disputes concerning alleged land grabbing and breach of lease agreements, while the Uttar Pradesh government restored large parts of the campus. Earlier this year, Khan and his family officially stepped down from the management board of the university. Khan previously held the position of Chancellor and Lifetime President of the Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Trust, which manages the university.
The Supreme Court demanded on Wednesday that the CBSE provide detailed information on the measures taken to prevent alleged violations related to the digital assessment system (Online Marking, or OSM).
Despite this demand, the General Advisor informed the court that a single-member committee had been formed to investigate these issues. The judicial bench, which included Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with judges Joymalya Bagchi and Vi Mohan, emphasized the need for urgent action to comprehensively resolve the problems causing concern among students.
The Chief Justice, supported by the General Advisor in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition raising several questions about OSM, noted: 'Look at the disappointment this is causing young children.'
Judge Joymalya Bagchi stated that while CBSE has the right to develop an assessment scheme, it appears to be facing initial difficulties in seamless implementation that need to be addressed.
The General Advisor informed the court about the appointment of a single-member committee led by S Radha Chauhan to study these issues and develop comprehensive corrective measures. Furthermore, on June 2, the Centre immediately suspended CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta from their posts and initiated an audit of the OSM system procurement process.
The petition filed by a parent alleged that numerous discrepancies were found when scanning answer sheets for Class X students under the OSM system. These included unscanned pages, illegible scans, and the absence of checking for some answers or pages, which created uncertainty among students and their parents. It was also claimed that due to scanning errors and portal failures, the OSM assessment process resulted either in arbitrary grading or in the absence of grades for the answer sheets.
A conference was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, dedicated to strengthening cooperation in the field of legal education and interaction with legal media. The event took place at the House of Human Rights.
The conference was organized by the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights together with the editorial board of the journal 'Hayot va Qonun' (Life and Law). The event is timed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence and the 30th anniversary of the National Center itself.
The Director of the National Center and Academician Akmal Saidov opened the conference, noting that the celebrations of the 35th anniversary of independence are being held according to the presidential decree of April 1, 2026. He emphasized that the approved concept and program of commemorative events, conducted under the slogan 'Together with one Motherland and one people we will build a new life and a new future!', reflect the achievements of New Uzbekistan and its growing international authority.
Saidov particularly focused on legal education, calling the teaching of human rights one of the key areas of the Center's activities. He announced that the Center has initiated systematic seminars and training sessions in all regions of the country for prevention inspectors working with mahalla public assemblies. It is expected that over 10,000 such inspectors serving about 9,000 mahallas across Uzbekistan will undergo training.
As an example of its public information work, Saidov noted that in the first half of 2026, the National Center published 2,228 materials on its official website. Information was also regularly disseminated through media in Uzbek, Russian, and English. Participants noted that the National Center is the founder or co-founder of several specialized legal publications, including the journals 'Democratization and Human Rights' and 'Public Opinion and Human Rights'. The journal 'Hayot va Qonun' has now joined the Center's permanent information partners and will contribute to promoting legal knowledge and strengthening legal culture in society.
During the event, the latest edition of the journal 'Hayot va Qonun', as well as legal publications and new issues of the journal, were presented to the House of Human Rights. Siroddin Rustamov, head of Hayot va Qonun LLC, outlined the main directions of future cooperation with the National Center, while editor-in-chief Mahmudxon Toirov spoke about the key legal issues covered by the journal.
One of the main outcomes of the conference was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the National Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights and the editorial board of the journal 'Hayot va Qonun'. The document was signed by Akmal Saidov and Siroddin Rustamov. The memorandum provides for the development of joint projects in the field of education and public awareness, expanding cooperation in informing the population about legal problems, supporting scientific research, and promoting international standards in human rights.
The event concluded with a poetry evening titled 'Independent Uzbekistan - My Pride, My Honor', where works dedicated to the country's independence, homeland, and the creative labor of the people of Uzbekistan were presented. Poets and journalists presented literary works reflecting themes of patriotism, peace, and national unity. The conference marked another step in strengthening interaction between state structures and specialized legal publications aimed at increasing legal literacy, promoting respect for human rights, and expanding public access to quality legal information.
