India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Uttar Pradesh government has knocked on the Supreme Court’s doors challenging Allahabad High Court’s order to quash Dr. Kafeel Khan’s detention under the National Security Act (NSA).
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh of the Allahabad High court had allowed the writ petition filed on behalf of Dr. Khan by his mother Nuzhat Perween and quashed Khan’s detention.
“… we are having no hesitation in concluding that neither detention of Dr. Kafeel Khan under the National Security Act, 1980 nor extension of the detention are sustainable in the eye of the law”, the High Court had held.
On October 26, the Uttar Pradesh government moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court order. The case is likely to come up for hearing on December 17.
Dr. Khan was lodged in Mathura jail for an allegedly provocative speech at the Aligarh Muslim University in the backdrop of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Earlier, Perween had approached the Supreme Court which asked her to move to the High Court. Since the listing of a case before the High Court got delayed, the Supreme Court on August 11 asked the High Court to decide the plea within 15 days.
“The writ petition for the reasons given above is allowed. The order of detention dated 13th February 2020 passed by District Magistrate, Aligarh and confirmed by the State of Uttar Pradesh, is set aside. The extension of the period of detention of detenue Dr. Kafeel Khan is also declared illegal. A writ in the nature of habeas corpus is hereby issued to release Dr. Kafeel Khan, the detenue from State custody forthwith,” the High Court had ordered.
In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the UP government said Dr. Kafeel has a history of committing various offences, which had led to disciplinary action, his suspension from service, registration of FIRs against him and the invocation of NSA.
The government alleged that Dr. Kafeel despite being warned of the imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC in the area around Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the order of the Allahabad High Court banning the holding any kind of dharna and rally within 100 meters of AMU, chose to ignore the orders and deliver a provocative speech to students gathered near the Bab-e-Syed Gate of AMU with an attempt to disturb the law and order in Aligarh by inciting Muslim students of AMU against other communities.
“Had the violent student not been talked to stop, the crowd would have disturbed the public order and the communal harmony of the district by entering Aligarh city”, the UP government said.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) last month wrote to Uttar Pradesh government regarding the suspension of Dr. Kafeel Khan. It asked the government to consider Dr. Kafeel’s plight with compassion and merit, and also to consider the matter regarding his suspension.
