Allahabad High Court asks UP to remove 'name and shame'posters of anti-CAA protesters

The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Lucknow administration to remove all hoardings displaying photos and personal details of those accused of violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. It said the state government’s move to put up posters was an “unwarranted interference in the privacy of people” and violative of the Constitution.

The order to the Lucknow district magistrate and Lucknow Commissionerate was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha. The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by the court itself after reports surfaced that the state government has put up banners with pictures, names and addresses of the riot-accused.

It also asked the Lucknow district magistrate to submit a compliance report by March 16.


In a special hearing on Sunday, the court had asked the state government to explain under which provisions had the banners been put up.

The state government counsel, Raghvendra Singh, admitted that there was no law permitting its action, but questioned the court’s move to file the PIL, and said it was interfering in what was a “bonafide action” by the state to deter mischief mongers from causing damage to public and private property. He also questioned the bench’s territorial jurisdiction to adjudicate on a matter that took place in Lucknow.

“Where there is gross negligence on part of public authorities and government, where the law is disobeyed and the public is put to suffering, and where the precious values of the Constitution are subjected to injuries, a constitutional court can very well take notice of that at its own. The courts are meant to impart justice and no court can shut its eyes if a public unjust is happening just before it,” the court said in a reply to the state counsel.

It also said that there are lakhs of accused persons in the state who are facing serious allegations for crimes they have committed and whose personal details have not been released publicly. “As a matter of fact, the placement of personal data of selected persons reflects colourable exercise of powers by the executive,” it said.

“In entirety, we are having no doubt that the action of the state, which is subject matter of this public interest litigation, is nothing but an unwarranted interference in privacy of people. The same, hence, is in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” it said.

A district administration official told ET that the government will take a call after going through the hard copy of the court order.

Since the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Lucknow on December 19 turned violent and led to destruction of public property, the state government has been running a recovery exercise to collect damages from everyone it has found involved in the arson. The exercise was started after chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s warning to rioters that the state will “take revenge” for the damage done.

Notices for recovery against damages — collectively amounting to Rs 1.55 crore — have been issued so far.

Recipients of the notices also include a few eminent personalities like Congress worker Sadaf Jafar, retired IPS officer SR Darapuri, activist Deepak Kabir and prominent Shia cleric Maulana Asif Abbas — all of whom had earlier been released without any charges and who later expressed fear that the public display of their personal information endangered their lives.