Allahabad High Court Orders Status Quo on Disputed Methodist Church-School Land in Sitapur

The Allahabad High Court on July 12, 2026 ordered the Uttar Pradesh government and the petitioners to maintain status quo over a disputed parcel of land in Sitapur after a 150-year-old educational institution claimed there was an imminent threat of demolition.

A bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai passed the interim order in a Sunday sitting while hearing an urgent writ petition filed by Methodist Mission Girls Junior High School, Civil Lines, Sitapur, and another.

The matter was placed before the bench after the petitioners sought urgent hearing, claiming there was an imminent threat of demolition of the educational institution.

The Land Dispute

The petitioners told the high court that the disputed land measures 3.562 hectares and is situated in Village Chavani Kadim, Pargana Khairabad, Tehsil and District Sitapur. According to them, the land has been wrongly recorded as Nazul land in the State government's records.

Also Read| Allahabad High Court Orders Closure Of 100-Year-Old Lucknow Girls’ School For Unsafe Building

They claimed that the property was purchased by their predecessor-in-interest in 1862 and was subsequently transferred through successive predecessors before coming into the hands of the present petitioners, who have been running an educational institution on the land for around 150 years.

School and Church Not Touched

Opposing the plea, the State submitted that the District Magistrate, Sitapur's order dated June 24, 2026, clearly showed that authorities had not interfered with the portion of land where the school and church are functioning. Instead, only other portions, specifically described in the impugned order, had been reclaimed.

The State further informed the court that demolition activities had already been carried out in certain areas and that possession of those portions had been taken by the Nagar Palika Parishad, Sitapur, on July 10, 2024.

Non-Disclosure of Pending Civil Suit

During the hearing, the bench noticed that a civil suit relating to a portion of the disputed property is already pending before the Civil Judge (Senior Division), Sitapur. However, court recorded that there was no mention of this litigation in the writ petition.

Also Read| ‘Education No Longer Sacred, Has Become Lucrative Business’: Madras High Court on School Safety

The petitioners' counsel acknowledged this omission and submitted that because the writ petition had been drafted and filed in great urgency, certain facts had not been brought on record.

Taking note of the submissions, the high court directed that the matter be listed on July 20, 2026, among the top ten cases.

As an interim measure, the bench observed that since the State government had already taken possession of a part of the disputed land, "they shall not change the nature of the possessed disputed property and the parties shall maintain status quo over the said land till the next date of listing".

Court also directed the office of the Chief Standing Counsel to communicate the order to the State authorities immediately, without waiting for issuance of a certified copy.

Case Title: Methodist Mission Girls Junior High School, Civil Lines, Sitapur & Another v. State of Uttar Pradesh & 4 Others

Order Date: July 12, 2026

Bench: Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai