SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh recently dismissed a petition from Ahmadiyya Public School (APS) seeking an extension of recognition to continue operating on Kahcharai land in Kashmir’s Shopian area.
Justice Javed Iqbal Wani highlighted that the school had not applied for the regularization of land use, making its claim legally unenforceable.
The Court referenced the Supreme Court’s stance on evicting encroachers from common land, stating that exemptions are only granted when land use is regularized.
APS had operated on Kahcharai land since 1994, initially serving students up to class 5 but later expanding to class 8 without government objection. Recognition was extended multiple times by the Jammu and Kashmir government.
However, in 2022, a statutory order required schools to submit a no-objection certificate regarding land use for recognition extension. APS’s application revealed that the NOC was not granted due to the land’s Kahcharai status.
APS argued that denial of recognition extension would force closure and harm students. The Court, however, dismissed the plea, noting the absence of land regularization and APS’s failure to apply for it. The Court emphasized that without regularization, APS had no legal grounds to maintain its petition.
Advocate Tasaduk Hussain Reshi represented APS in court.
