Allahabad HC adjourns hearing in forcible eviction case to July 28

Prayagraj, Jul 15 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing in a matter of forcible eviction in 2016 from an orphanage in Rampur and fixed July 28 as the next date for hearing.
    The order was passed by Justice Samir Jain on a petition filed by Mohammad Islam and another person. Along with this petition, another petition filed by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is also connected.
    About 12 separate FIRs were lodged in the matter in which former MP Khan and several others have been made accused.
    Earlier, the high court in its order dated June 11 had observed that the trial in the case will proceed but no final order shall be passed. Later, the petition filed by Khan was also connected with the case of Islam.
    The case, originating from 12 FIRs registered between 2019 and 2020 at Kotwali Police Station in Rampur, pertains to an alleged incident on October 15, 2016, involving the demolition of unauthorized structures on the Waqf property known as Yateem Khana (orphanage).
    These FIRs, initially tried as separate cases, were consolidated into a single trial by the Special Judge (MP/MLA) in Rampur on August 8, 2024.
    The accused including prominent figures face charges of dacoity, house trespass, and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
    This petition challenges the trial court's May 30 orders rejecting their requests to recall informants and key prosecution witnesses, including Zafar Ahmad Farooqui, Chairman of the Sunni Central Waqf Board, and to produce exculpatory videographic evidence of the 2016 eviction.
    The applicants argue that this evidence acknowledged by Farooqui could exonerate them by proving their absence from the scene.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)