The Allahabad High Court granted relief to Dr Kafeel Khan on Tuesday, revoking the charges under the National Security Act (NSA) imposed on him, and held his detention as unsustainable under the law. A bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh also ordered the immediate release of the doctor.
Dr Kafeel Khan has been lodged in Mathura jail after he was arrested in January 2020 for a speech he delivered at the Aligarh Muslim University in December 2019 during the anti-CAA protests. He was granted bail in February 2020, but then the NSA was slapped against him two days later.
The Allahabad KC also noted that no proceedings for the detention of Dr Kafeel Khan were initiated for about two months from the day he addressed the students.
“A complete reading of the speech prima facie does not disclose any effort to promote hatred or violence. It also nowhere threatens peace and tranquillity 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 said.
The court also said that there was a “serious lack of objective material on record” which may have satisfied the reason for the authorities to preventively detain Dr Kafeel Khan in February.
The court also said that the authorities have not been able to back up with facts their statement that even while in prison, Dr Kafeel Khan was in contact with Aligarh Muslim University students and was “instigating to disturb public order of the city”. “The facts stated are not acceptable since they are not supported by any material,” the court said.
The High Court noted that the orders of the extension were never served to Dr Kafeel Khan.
“The record shown to us and the pleadings of the petition also refer that only radiograms relating to decision of the State Government for extension of the term of detention were supplied to the detenue (Kafeel Khan). The radiograms mention that the actual order shall be sent through Speed Post but in fact nothing except the radiographs were given to the detenue,” the court said, adding that “neither detention of Kafeel Khan under the National Security Act, 1980, nor extension of the detention are sustainable in the eye of law.”
With this, the court set aside the order of detention dated February 13, declared the extension of the period of detention as illegal and ordered Dr Kafeel Khan’s immediate release from prison.