LUCKNOW: Two days after the Allahabad High Court order, the Uttar Pradesh government has yet to take down the hoardings featuring anti-CAA protestors across main crossing of state capital Lucknow. On the contrary, the state authorities are contemplating to challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court of India. In all probability the state government may move SC on Wednesday itself.
If the highly placed sources are to be believed, the state government has already asked the legal luminaries to prepare a petition to challenge High Court order in the apex court. The petition is likely to be filed in SC on Wednesday.
Notably, taking the suo motu cognizance of the Lucknow district authorities’ step to put up hoardings featuring anti-CAA protestors who were accused of indulging in violence and vandalism during the stir against the Citizenship amendment Act on December 19-20, last year, the Allahabad High Court had on Monday asked the Lucknow DM and Police commissioner to take down the hoardings. The court had dubbed the step as ‘highly unjust’ and an encroachment of the personal liberty of persons in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Conducting a special hearing of the case first on Sunday, March 8, followed by March 9, the two-judge division bench of the High Court, comprising Chief Jutice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha, had directed the Lucknow DM and the Lucknow police commissioner to submit a detailed report of compliance to the Registrar General of the High Court till March 16, the next date of hearing.
State government media consultant Shalabh Mani Tripathi claimed that the government was consulting legal experts and studying the High Court order. The state government had kept the option of approaching the apex court open, he said.
“However, one thing is certain that there would be no mercy for the rioters and vandals who damaged public property worth crores during the protests,” said a senior government official.
Meanwhile, CM Yogi’s media advisor, Mrityunjai Kumar said that the High Court had asked just to remove the hoardings and not the sections of IPC under which those vandals and rioters were booked. “The HC order should be understood in right perspective,” he said.
The sources also claimed that immediately after the High Court order, senior officials of state home department had gone into a huddle on Monday to chart future course of action. As per the sources, those who took part in the meeting convened by Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi included Lucknow DM Abhishek Prakash, Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey and some law officers.