LUCKNOW: The prominent activists whose name and addresses were put on the hoardings erected at major crossing across Lucknow in connection with recovery of damages to public property during anti-CAA protests, have welcomed the Allahabad High Court’s directives to the DM and Police commissioner to remove the hoardings as it amounted to violation of Article 21 of Constitution of India.
Responding to the court order, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer SR Darapuri said that he had full faith in the judicial system of the country. "This order has reiterated that the state of Uttar Pradesh would be governed by the law of the land and not by the lawless rule of Yogi Adityanath," he maintained. He claimed that state government’s move to name and shame protesters accused of inciting violence during demonstrations against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was a danger to the life and liberty of citizens not yet convicted by courts.
He also welcomed the HC taking suo motu cognizance of the matter saying the way UP government behaved by putting up the hoardings, a judicial intervention was imperative. He wondered where did they import his photo from. “It was illegal and a violation of our privacy and it has endangered our life and liberty,” said Darapuri
While talking to media persons, activist-politician Sadaf Jafar, who was among those 57 persons named in the hoardings, also welcomed the Allahabad High Court order. She dubbed the state government’s move as against the rule of law while move of the court had set an example and came as a reinforcement of faith in
the constitution.
Meanwhile, Maulana Saif Abbas, whose name was also there on the hoarding, said: I welcome the court order. It is a lesson for those who run the government like a tyrant,” he said. He claimed that the HC order had established the fact that no one was above the law and the dispensations should be run while being
within the constitutional limits.
On the other, Deepak Kabir, theatre artist and another accused who featured on the hoardings called it the moral victory. However felt that the damage, in the present digital age, was already done. The hoardings, asking for those named to pay for damage to public property during the protests in Lucknow, were put up at prominent intersections of Luckow on March 6. The hoardings said that if the accused failed to pay the damages, their properties would be attached.
Meanwhile, in a first reaction from the side of the state government, CM Yogi’s media advisor, Mritunjay Kumar took to twitter to interpret the High Court order as being one against the hoardings and not the sections invoked against the vandals and rioters. He posted: “ The High Court order should be understood in the right perspective. Only the posters will be removed and not the sections of IPC invoked against them. We will continue our fight to identify the rioters.”