Shopian, September 25: The Principal and Sessions Court in Shopian has ordered the reopening of Darul Uloom Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom, directing the institution to resume educational activities while the main case concerning its closure remains pending.
Principal and Sessions Judge Shopian Mehmood Ahmad Chowdhary passed the order while hearing an interim application filed by the seminary seeking relief against its continued closure.
The reopening will, however, take place under the supervision of a three-member committee to be constituted by the government, with the committee required to work with the institution’s management and applicants to ensure compliance with the conditions laid down by the court.
Advocate S M Iqbal, who represented the seminary, said around 1,200 students were enrolled at the institution, including nearly 400 residential students.
“The main case is still underway, but we filed an interim application because the future and education of children were at stake,” Iqbal told reporters.
According to Iqbal, the court found that the material placed before it by the government, at the present stage of the proceedings, was not sufficient to justify keeping the entire institution closed.
He further said the court observed that the powers exercised in the matter were excessive in relation to the allegations levelled against the institution.
Iqbal said the seminary had also brought to the court’s notice that its properties were deteriorating during the closure and that no proper administrative arrangements had been made.
The court has directed that its reopening order be widely publicised through newspapers and other media so that students who had left the institution can return without hindrance, including those who may have secured admission at another institution in the meantime.
Advocate Bashrat Abdullah, who also represented the seminary, said the government’s action had been based on allegations of unlawful activities at the institution.
He said the applicants produced documents and other material before the court to contest the allegations, while, according to him, the opposing side failed to provide evidence establishing that unlawful activities were being carried out at the seminary.
Abdullah said the committee to be constituted under the court’s directions would coordinate with the management and applicants to ensure that the conditions prescribed in the order are followed.
The seminary was shut following an order issued by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg on April 24.
The administration had acted on the basis of a dossier alleging illegal activities at Darul Uloom Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian.
The April order cited what it described as “credible inputs and evidence on record” indicating alleged sustained and covert links between the institution and Jamaat-e-Islami, which was banned by the Centre in 2019.
The closure had drawn criticism from political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, with several leaders calling for the order to be withdrawn.
The latest court order allows the seminary to resume its educational activities pending final adjudication of the main case.
