An Enforcement Directorate probe into alleged unexplained expenditure at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Rampur has led to an FIR against Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust and several companies and individuals. The agency has alleged a Rs 416.14 crore gap between the university’s declared capital expenditure and the assessed cost of construction on its campus.
The case was registered at Azeemnagar police station in Rampur under Sections 61, 316(5) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Sections 7, 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The principal location identified in the case is the university campus in Signankheda village, which falls within the Azeem Nagar police station area.
According to the ED, an Income Tax Department valuation report dated November 10, 2023, assessed the cost of buildings on the campus at Rs 494.46 crore. In contrast, the trust’s income-tax returns for financial years 2013-14 to 2024-25 disclosed capital expenditure of Rs 78.32 crore. The difference between the two figures forms the basis of the agency’s alleged unexplained expenditure calculation.
The FIR names Azam Khan, described in the report as the university’s founder-chancellor and lifetime chairman of the trust, along with the Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust, SS and S Enterprises, SS Chik Associates Private Limited and other persons. The ED has alleged that Khan exercised complete control over the affairs of the university and trust.
Statements recorded from trust members, including Mohd Faseeh Zaidi, Mushtaq Ahmad Siddique and ZR Siddique, reportedly indicated that they did not attend executive committee meetings or participate in key decisions. These statements are part of the agency’s investigation and do not establish guilt unless proved through the legal process.
A major part of the probe concerns the alleged diversion of construction materials and other public resources to the university campus. The ED alleged that contractors, many of them based in Rampur, obtained government contracts through Khan’s influence when he was a cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh and diverted materials purchased for public works towards construction at the university.
The agency cited the statement of Pawan Kumar Jain, managing director of Ceekay Associates Pvt Ltd. According to the report, Jain told investigators that his company secured government contracts worth around Rs 186 crore between 2013-14 and 2016-17 and diverted 30% to 40% of the contract value towards university construction. Using the lower estimate, the ED calculated an alleged diversion of at least Rs 55.8 crore.
The investigation has also examined three projects executed by the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam on the campus: a grand pandal, an OBC boys’ hostel and a hospital. The projects received a reported sanction of Rs 23.41 crore. The ED alleged that assets created using public money were subsequently transferred to the private university. It also flagged Rs 6.60 crore spent on works inside the campus through MLA and MLC constituency development funds.
Together, the agency has alleged that government-linked funds and resources worth Rs 85.81 crore reached the campus through these routes. The case also includes scrutiny of donations allegedly received from contractors and charitable organisations. The ED cited AS Enterprises, which reportedly secured contracts worth around Rs 25 crore and later donated Rs 40 lakh to the trust. Investigators are examining another Rs 6.235 crore received from KSD Charitable Trust in Meerut and City Educational Social Welfare Society between 2013-14 and 2016-17.
The FIR now places the university’s construction financing, public-works assets and trust governance under criminal investigation. Further proceedings will determine how the alleged expenditure gap and use of government-linked resources are established in court.
