RIYADH, 30 April — The Indian school in Dammam has won a protracted legal battle against a former member of its managing committee over a fraudulent land lease deal.
Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad said here yesterday that a court in Alkhobar had ruled that the lease agreement signed in 1998 between Dr. Abdul Majeed Qureshi, a former acting chairman of the managing committee of the International Indian School in Dammam, and Talal Al-Hindi, owner of the plot, as null and void. The verdict on April 25 will save the school millions of riyals.
“The school authorities will now pursue full financial restitution plus damages from Dr. Qureishi and his son-in-law Al-Hindi,” said Ahmad. Both Qureshi and Al-Hindi could not be reached for comments on the verdict.
Expressing confidence in the Saudi judicial system, Ahmad said the Alkhobar court had reversed an earlier decision in the case in favor of Al-Hindi who had sued the school for breach of contract.
The school appealed that decision on the basis that the lease agreement was fraudulently entered into by Dr. Qureshi with his son-in-law, Al-Hindi.
Sunita Ahmad, who has been advising the school on legal matters together with school lawyer Ismail Nazer, said the court had ruled that the school had the right to sue Al-Hindi for refund of money and damages. However, Qureshi has the right to appeal the verdict.
Sunita said the lease agreement was signed for a period of 15 years from July 1998 at an annual rent of SR90,000. The school had paid one year’s rent to Al-Hindi and had spent SR90,000 on developing the land.
After the initial payment at the time of the finalization of the lease agreement, the school refused to make further payments, Sunita said.
The school claimed that the lease agreement entered into by Qureshi was fraudulent and without authority from the IISD managing committee and constituted a breach of trust on his part. Sunita said Qureshi was acting chairman of the school board for only one month and had no power of attorney to sign legal documents on behalf of the school.
During the hearings, the judge suggested that the parties concerned strive for an amicable settlement.
The IISD, with an enrolment of over 8,300 students and 400 teaching and non-teaching staff, is one of the largest Indian educational institutions abroad.
“As patron, I see the protection of school’s financial interests as an integral part of my responsibility. It is particularly gratifying that the local courts have upheld our principled position,” Ahmad said after hearing about the verdict.
Indian community schools in the Kingdom serve over 32,000 children. “Attempts by certain vested interests seeking to separate the embassy from community schools are designed to avoid scrutiny of their actions, particularly in regard to financial matters. Such efforts will not succeed,” the ambassador warned.
