For years, Al-Falah University stood quietly on the outskirts of Haryana — a private institution offering engineering, management, education, and even a 200-seat MBBS programme.
Students attended classes, degrees were issued, admissions filled up — a picture of normalcy, growth, and academic ambition.
But behind this smooth façade, something far more troubling had been unfolding. And no regulator, no agency, and no accreditation body had noticed.
The truth surfaced only when a car-bomb blast near the Red Fort thrust the university into the center of a national-security investigation — and revealed just how deep India’s oversight failures run.
A Quiet Campus Suddenly Under the Harshest Spotlight
It began with investigators following a trail of communications and movements tied to the suspected terror module behind the blast. The trail unexpectedly led to Al-Falah University.
At first, officials thought it might be a coincidence.
Then came the second name.
Then the third.
And soon, at least five medical professionals or staff members employed by the university were under scrutiny.
What had appeared to be an ordinary private institution suddenly looked like a place where extremists may have been quietly embedded.
Agencies began probing whether parts of the campus had been used as operational support points — for logistics, movement, or planning.
What followed was a cascade of questions that should have been asked long ago.
A Chancellor Summoned — But No Public Proof Yet of Direct Role
The university’s chancellor and founder, Javed (Jawad) Ahmad Siddiqui, was summoned for questioning. The summons alone created shockwaves.
But investigators clarified an important fact:
There was no public evidence that Siddiqui planned or ordered the blast.
The case against him was investigative, not conclusive.
Yet, the presence of multiple accused individuals on the university’s payroll raised bigger questions:
How did these people get hired?
What vetting was done?
Who supervised them?
And most disturbingly — how long had this gone unnoticed?
Regulators Act — But Only After the Blast Probe
As intelligence agencies swarmed the campus, another revelation emerged.
Al-Falah University had been claiming:
- NAAC accreditation
- UGC 12(B) recognition
- Compliance with central standards
But when NAAC checked the records, the truth was stunning:
The university had never even applied for accreditation.
Its claims were “absolutely wrong and misleading,” the agency said in a rare, scathing notice.
UGC too began demanding documents it had never scrutinised earlier.
For years, the university operated with thousands of students — issuing degrees, running a medical school — without key national accreditations.
No one in authority had stepped in.
No one had verified what was being publicly advertised.
It took a terror investigation to trigger action.
A System Designed to React, Not Prevent
The story of Al-Falah University is no longer just about one campus.
It is a story about India’s fractured, loophole-ridden education regulation, where:
- A university can be created by a State Act
- Run full-fledged programmes
- Enroll thousands of students
- Claim accreditations without proof
—and central bodies may not notice unless something goes drastically wrong.
Oversight is paper-driven.
Audits are not mandatory.
Accreditation is optional.
Verification is rare.
Al-Falah didn’t simply slip through the cracks —
the cracks were wide open.
A University With Thousands of Students — and Unanswered Questions
Despite having:
- MBBS students
- Nursing and engineering batches
- 1,500–2,000 enrolled students
- A growing medical and academic infrastructure
—No nNoregulator performed timely compliance checks.
Even as ED began probing the trust’s finances and funding sources, and as staff came under terror suspicion, the university continued functioning as if nothing was wrong.
Classes were held.
Admissions continued.
Advertisements rolled out.
A full system breakdown allowed this to happen.
The Questions That Investigators — and India — Must Now Answer
For the chancellor and management, investigators must determine:
- Did they knowingly allow extremist activity?
- Were they negligent?
- Or completely in the dark about what their employees were doing?
These answers will emerge in court.
But for India’s education system, the bigger question is:
How did a university with such glaring red flags remain untouched for years?
Al-Falah has become a case study of what happens when oversight is passive, accreditation is optional, and compliance is assumed rather than enforced.
Until this system is repaired, the Al-Falah episode will not be the last of its kind — only the latest one discovered by accident.
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