In a big relief to human rights activist Nadeem Khan, the Delhi High Court has granted a stay on his arrest until December 5.
The National Secretary of Association for Protection of Civil Rights (ACPR) was booked by the Delhi Police for promoting enmity and criminal conspiracy after a video of him went viral on YouTube, reported barandbench.com.
Khan has been directed by the court to cooperate with the police investigation and not leave Delhi without the permission of the investigating officer, reported thenewsminute.com.
Khan was also directed to cooperate with the police investigation.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and advocates Tara Narula, Tamanna Pankaj, Shivangi Sharma, Ahmed Ibrahim, Rupali Samuel, Shahrukh Alam, Deeksha Dwivedi and Ritesh Dhar Dubey appeared for Khan and ACPR.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 5.
The case against Nadeem Khan
As per the contents of the FIR, a sub-inspector (SI) was on patrol duty when he was informed by “secret sources” that a video had been uploaded on social media that was causing great anger among local people and could lead to violence, reported the Indian Express.
“The video also shows photographs of some politicians and media personalities… on multiple display boards, whom the person accuses of spreading hatred. After this, the person mentions incidents from different parts of the country, portraying a particular community as victims and trying to disrupt communal harmony in the country,” the FIR stated.
Upon inquiring about APCR, police said its registered office is in Abul Fazal Enclave 1, Jamia Nagar, and the person speaking in the video is Khan.
“Khan has spoken in the video (despite knowing) this is a sensitive issue and that organising an exhibition on a public platform, creating a museum… putting up photos of well-known public personalities, making allegations, and portraying a particular community as oppressed can incite people and promote separatist activities,” the FIR stated.
A case under sections 196, 353(2) and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered and investigation is underway, said police.
In a statement, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said it was shocked at how the Delhi Police is conducting a targeted witch-hunt of Khan at the instigation of a few social media accounts on Twitter.
“On Saturday, around 5 pm, four personnel, including the SHO of Shaheen Bagh Police Station in Delhi, came to the private residence in Bengaluru where Khan was staying and attempted to detain him without any warrant or notice. From 5 pm till 9 pm, they sat in the hall of the first floor of the house and coerced Nadeem to come to Delhi ‘voluntarily’ with them under ‘informal custody’,” PUCL alleged in a statement.
The Delhi Police did not respond to these allegations, reported the Indian Express.
Outrage over ‘targeting’ of Nadeem Khan
Indiatomorrow.net reported: Professor Apoorvanand Jha, a leading academic and activist, stated: “If you speak against organised politics of hate, you’ll be accused of spreading enmity, and if you fight for justice, you’ll be accused of disturbing peace. We need to stand for Nadeem Khan.”
Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, author, dormer Chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, and President of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, questioned the urgency with which the case against Khan was pursued.
He asked: “Is there any logic? A highly contentious case is hastily filed following a hateful post. The SHO had time to instantly fly to faraway Bangalore to arrest a rights activist. Having failed in his mission, the same SHO now orders the activist to present himself at the police station this afternoon!”
