Allahabad HC Orders Release of Kafeel Khan, NSA Charges Revoked
The order was passed by a division bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh.
The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday, 1 September, revoked the National Security Act (NSA) charges against Dr Kafeel Khan, and directed his immediate release.
The order by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh read:
“The order of detention dated 13 February 2020 passed by district magistrate and confirmed by the state of Uttar Pradesh is set aside. The extension of the period of mention 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 detente from state custody forthwith.”
THE COURT SAY?
Quoting Dr Kafeel Khan’s speech from 12 December 2019 at Aligarh Muslim University, on the basis of which he was detained, the court said:
“A complete reading of the speech primafacie does not disclose any effort to promote hatred or violence. It also no where threatens peace and tranquility of the city of Aligarh. The address gives a call for national integrity and unity among the citizens.The speech also deprecates any kind of violence. It appears that the District Magistrate had selective reading and selective mention for few phrases from the speech ignoring its true intent.”
The court further considered the fact that even the NSA is supposed to allow preventive detention, ie, in cases where the person is considered an active threat – but Dr Khan’s speech was made 2 months before the government sought his detention under the Act. Moreover, no material was placed on record to actually show he was a threat, and even the UP Police had not accused him in the charge sheets for the violence that took place in Aligarh on 13 December 2019.
The NSA order therefore was an after-thought, passed after Dr Khan got bail in the regular case against him:
“Nothing has been said in the order of detention or the grounds for detention that district administration had any information within the period from 12th December, 2019 to 13th February, 2020 about any effort made by the detenue to cause even a simple scar to the peace or tranquility or the public order of the city of Aligarh. It is only after passing of the bail order by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Aligarh,the police officials and the District Magistrate, Aligarh initiated the process for detaining Dr. Kafeel Khan under the National Security Act,1980.”
The bench also pointed out that the material that needed to be provided to Dr Khan, whether the transcript of his speech that the government thought was dangerous, to even the actual orders extending his detention (rather than just radiograms saying that these would be sent to him), were not provided.
“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 is also declared illegal,” said the court.