Alleged irregularities, Jamaat-e-Islami link: J&K Admin declares Siraj-ul-Uloom unlawful
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One of the biggest Islamic seminaries of south Kashmir, Siraj-ul-Uloom, which imparts religious and modern education alike, was directed to shut down after being declared an unlawful entity under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), based on a report that alleged the institute had fostered an environment conducive to radicalisation, alongside serious financial and administrative irregularities, apart from its purported linkages with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami.
The order, issued by Divisional Commissioner Anshul Garg under Section 8(1) of the Act, invoked statutory powers enabling the designation of any premises as an unlawful place if found to be used for activities associated with an unlawful association, thereby paving the way for coercive measures including sealing of the institution and freezing of its financial assets, according to The Indian Express.
Relying upon a report submitted by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Shopian, the administration asserted that the seminary, though ostensibly operating as a religious educational establishment, was fraught with systemic legal, administrative, and financial aberrations.
These included questionable land acquisition practices, absence of mandatory regulatory registration, and what it described as deliberate evasion of statutory oversight mechanisms.
The administration further alleged entrenched and covert linkages with Jamaat-e-Islami through individuals exercising de facto control over its administrative and academic apparatus.
The order additionally underscored concerns relating to financial opacity and the suspicious restructuring of fiscal control within the institution, which, it maintained, raised apprehensions regarding diversion and misuse of funds, while intelligence inputs and field verifications were cited to claim that the seminary had, over time, cultivated an ideological milieu conducive to radicalisation.
Despite the institution being afforded an opportunity to present objections, the administration dismissed its submissions as legally untenable and factually deficient, asserting that the proceedings were preventive in nature and did not necessitate the evidentiary threshold required in criminal trials, while also contending that the management had failed to take adequate remedial measures despite being cognisant of alleged misuse of its premises.
Established in 1998 following a land donation by local cleric Peer Gull Mohammad Sofi, the seminary also runs a school affiliated with the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, imparting education up to Class 12 under a separate trust.