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SRMU in dock over land encroachment, fined ₹28 lakh
Barabanki sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Anand Tripathi said the tehsildar court of Nawabganj had, on August 25, issued notices directing SRMU to vacate the encroached land and pay a fine of ₹27.96 lakh. HT has a copy of the court order.
Trouble is mounting for Sri Ram Swaroop Memorial University (SRMU) after the Barabanki administration ordered it to vacate government land allegedly encroached by the institution and imposed a fine of nearly ₹28 lakh, senior officials confirmed on Thursday. The action came hours after the Uttar Pradesh State Higher Education Council lodged an FIR against SRMU late on Wednesday night for allegedly running an unrecognised law course.
Barabanki sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Anand Tripathi said the tehsildar court of Nawabganj had, on August 25, issued notices directing SRMU to vacate the encroached land and pay a fine of ₹27.96 lakh. HT has a copy of the court order.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow on Thursday, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) national secretary Ankit Shukla cited the order, saying: “The court stated that Pankaj Agarwal, SRMU chancellor and owner, had encroached land in Hadauri village of Dewa subdivision, including drainage, a pathway, a pond and barren land. The university has been told to vacate the land within 30 days, failing which the administration may use bulldozers. The fine must be paid within 15 days.”
Nawabganj tehsildar Bhupendra Vikram Singh said a revenue department probe confirmed the university had encroached about 2.5 bighas of government land. A boundary wall was built around the disputed land last year and included within the university premises, he added.
Agarwal, however, denied the charges, saying the university had already applied for substitution of the land in the same court and the matter was sub judice.
The FIR, lodged by UP Higher Education Council additional secretary Dinesh Kumar at Barabanki Kotwali police station, accuses SRMU of forgery, fraud and dishonestly inducing persons. It was filed on the basis of a probe by Ayodhya divisional commissioner Rajesh Kumar.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered the inquiry after police lathicharged ABVP workers protesting outside SRMU earlier this week. Students alleged the university admitted them to law courses without Bar Council of India (BCI) recognition.
The probe found SRMU admitted students in 2023-24 and 2024-25, conducted examinations, and had also opened registrations for 2025-26, raising fears of jeopardising students’ future.
SRMU vice-chancellor Vikas Mishra countered that the university’s law programmes had BCI approval for 2025-26. He said affiliation was permanent, but operational permissions from regulators were renewed annually.
