'Name and shame' posters: Former IPS officer Darapuri, activist-politician Sadaf Jafar hail HC order

'Name and shame' posters: Former IPS officer Darapuri, activist-politician Sadaf Jafar hail HC order
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Activist-politician Sadaf Jafar and former IPS officer SR Darapuri whose photos with personal details had appeared on the posters put up to "name and shame" anti-CAA protesters hailed the Allahabad High Court order asking the authorities to remove the hoardings.

The posters bearing photographs, names and addresses of those accused of vandalism during the anti-CAA protests in December had come up at major road crossings in Lucknow late on Thursday night.

Darapuri and Jafar were earlier arrested in December in connection with anti-CAA protests in Lucknow. They were granted bail in January.

Reacting to the order, Sadaf Jafar told PTI, "The judgment is extremely welcome because it reiterates our faith in the Constitution of the country, and also in the judiciary. Secondly, it also send a strong signal to the government that the state shall be run not by the authoritarianism, but by the rule of law."

She, however, regretted that their personal details have reached people and the threat to their lives was still not over.

"Now our identities, addresses and private information are in inboxes and galleries of people. The damage they wanted to do to us is already done. The danger to our lives is not over yet. But at least it (order) sets a precedent for the future, so that they (government) do not repeat it for others. Hence, I treat it as a landmark judgment," she said.

When contacted, S R Darapuri said, "We welcome the  judgment because it proved that in UP, the rule of law will  prevail, not the anarchy (aarajaktaa) of the Yogi  (Adityanath) government. This is a victory of democracy and defeat of dictatorship."

He added that earlier he had written to the DGP and the home secretary that if any untoward incident took place because of the "illegal actions", then they "will be responsible for it".

He said around six posters featuring him were put up in parts of the state capital.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Lucknow adminstration to remove posters of those accused of  vandalism during anti-CAA protests in December.

The bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice  Ramesh Sinha also directed the district magistrate and the  Lucknow police commissioner to submit a report in this regard  by March 16.

The court, which had on March 7 taken suo motu  cognisance of the issue, on Sunday had termed the move "highly  unjust" and said it was an "absolute encroachment on personal  liberty of individuals".

The posters bearing photographs, names and addresses  of those accused of vandalism during the anti-CAA protests had  come up at major road crossings in Lucknow late on Thursday  night on the directions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi  Adityanath, an official had said.

Daily Pioneer
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