Lucknow/Barabanki (UP): Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University in Barabanki has been booked on charges of cheating and forgery for allegedly running an unrecognised law course for the last three years, an official said on Thursday.

In another case, the revenue department has imposed a fine of nearly Rs 28 lakh on the university for allegedly encroaching upon government land and directed its management to remove the illegal occupation within 30 days.

An FIR was registered on Wednesday at the Barabanki city police station following a complaint from the Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Commission, which is the nodal agency under the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act, 2019.

According to the complaint lodged by Dinesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Commission, the university admitted students to its law programme during the academic sessions 2023-24 and 2024-25 and even conducted examinations despite not having approval from the competent authority. For the 2025-26 session too, registrations for the law course were reportedly underway.

The FIR was lodged under sections 318(4) (cheating), 338 (forgery of a valuable security), 336(3) (forgery), and 340 (using forged documents or electronic records as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said.

The commission said the act amounted to playing with the future of students and was in violation of the Private Universities Act, 2019, and related regulations. The FIR follows an inquiry report submitted by the Ayodhya divisional commissioner after protests by student groups, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), against the university on September 1.

“Strict legal action has been recommended against the university management,” Dinesh Kumar said in the complaint.

According to Tehsildar Bhupendra Vikram Singh, a revenue team had carried out a land survey on the basis of a complaint last month at the university campus located on Deva-Mati road. During inspection, 18 land parcels, including those recorded as drainage, pond, barren land and public pathways, were found encroached and merged into the campus, covering nearly six bighas of government land.

Following the probe, the Tehsildar's court on August 25 ordered eviction and imposed a fine of Rs 27.96 lakh on the university management, directing that the penalty be paid and the encroachment removed within 30 days. Officials have warned that failure to comply may lead to demolition action with bulldozers.

University registrar Dr Neerja Jindal, however, denied receiving any such order or notice and said she had no information regarding encroachment of government land.

On the issue of law course approval, she claimed the matter was being raked up by some unidentified people to create disturbance and maintained that the university had all necessary approvals. She said the matter pertained to renewal of recognition for law courses, which had already been completed by the Bar Council of India for BA LLB, BCom LLB and LLB programmes with a total of 240 seats.

A number of students, including ABVP workers, were injured in lathicharge by the police during the protest, drawing sharp reactions from Opposition parties as well as the BJP.