Faridabad’s Al-Falah University has responded to the show-cause notice issued by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) on November 12. The university is under heavy scrutiny after investigators linked several doctors from its medical college to the November 10 Red Fort blast.
According to two senior NAAC officials, the university admitted that outdated accreditation claims on its website were the result of “oversight,” “website-design errors,” and “unintentional lapses.” They said the university was “apologetic” and confirmed that all misleading information had been removed. At this stage, NAAC is not considering further action.
The officials also said that NAAC has now issued notices to around 25 more institutions for displaying expired accreditation grades. These colleges have been asked to take down incorrect information immediately.
Why NAAC Issued the Notice
NAAC’s notice to Al-Falah came two days after the Red Fort blast investigation revealed links to doctors associated with Al-Falah Medical College.
The accreditation body flagged the university for displaying “absolutely wrong and misleading” information. This included an “A Grade” for its engineering college from 2013 and accreditation for its teacher education school from 2011. Since NAAC accreditation is valid only for five years, both claims were outdated.
NAAC asked the university to remove all false information, submit a compliance report, and respond within seven days.
A NAAC official said, “Al-Falah University gave a long explanation. They said the outdated pages were an oversight or a website-design mistake and that the pages have now been taken down.”
Another official added that the explanation “was not entirely straightforward.” He said the university blamed old pages that were overlooked and a staff member who failed to update the content. “They were apologetic and insisted it was not intentional,” he added. He also noted that checking thousands of webpages across institutions is challenging, especially when old claims appear deep inside websites.
NAAC said the notices sent to the 25 other institutions are part of a broader effort to improve transparency. It has repeatedly warned colleges against misrepresenting their accreditation status. In 2018, NAAC issued a caution stating that false accreditation claims mislead stakeholders and can lead to strict action.
Scrutiny Expands Beyond Accreditation
The investigation into Al-Falah University has widened. On November 18, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of the Al-Falah group, in a money-laundering case linked to alleged fraudulent accreditation claims and financial irregularities.
The Association of Indian Universities has revoked the institution’s membership. In addition, the National Medical Commission removed four doctors — Muzaffar Ahmad Rather, Adeel Ahmad Rather, Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie, and Shaheen Shahid — from its medical register after they were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged role in the Red Fort blast.
Earlier, on November 12, vice-chancellor Bhupinder Kaur issued a statement distancing the university from the arrested doctors. She said the institution had “no connection” with them beyond their work in their official roles.
