WEB DESK
Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday granted conditional bail to Uttar Pradesh doctor Kafeel Khan who has been charged under NSA over his alleged anti-CAA speech.
Khan was booked under National Security Act (NSA) for his alleged provocative speech at Aligarh Muslim University in December 2019 during the protests there over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA.
The Gorakhpur-based doctor was arrested from Mumbai in January this year and is currently lodged in Mathura jail in Uttar Pradesh.
The HC has reportedly revoked NSA charges against Khan, saying the extension of his detention under the tough law was “illegal”. The court ordered his immediate release.
DR KAFEEL KHAN?
Dr Kafeel Khan was a lecturer and the nodal officer of the encephalitis ward in the state-run BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur. Dr Khan was greatly lauded for his efforts to save lives during the 2017 tragedy in the hospital that caused the deaths of 63 children. The deaths reportedly occurred due to a cut in the oxygen supply, with medical negligence being blamed for the deaths. Khan was arrested in August 2017 after the UP government denied that the deaths had occurred due to cutting of oxygen supply. Khan was quitted of all charges in September 2019.
WHY WAS KAFEEL KHAN IN PRISON NOW?
Khan has been in jail since January 29 after a speech he delivered at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 10, 2019 during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests. Following the speech, the Uttar Pradesh government invoked NSA charges against him on February 13, 2020, by of the Aligarh District Magistrate. On August 16, his detention under NSA was extended for the second time by three months.
WHY WAS KAFEEL KHAN’S EXTENSION ILLEGAL?
Under the NSA, people can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months if authorities are satisfied that they are a threat to national security or law and order. Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen filed a plea in Allahabad HC seeking his release following which a bench comprising of justices Manoj Mishra and Deepak Verma passed the order asking the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government to file their replies in a case seeking the release of Khan. In Tuesday’s hearing, the Allahabad HC observed that the Kafeel speech was not inflammatory and not sufficient for preventive detention.
WHAT DID THE COURT SAY?
The division bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh observed that Khan’s speech does not disclose any effort to promote hatred or unrest, as per Live Law. The court held that the speech did not harm the “peace and tranquility of Aligarh”. It further added that the address gave a “call for national integrity and unity among the citizens”.