Anti CAA speech: Allahabad HC closes criminal proceedings against Dr. Kafeel Khan
Following the high court order, Dr Kafeel Khan, in a statement, thanked his lawyers and dubbed the court’s decision “a big victory for the people of India”.
New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court today quashed the entire criminal proceedings against Dr. Kafeel Khan, arising out of an FIR & pending against him over his speech given about CAA and NRC at a protest meeting at Aligarh Muslim University in December 2019.
Following the high court order, Dr Kafeel Khan, in a statement, thanked his lawyers and dubbed the court’s decision “a big victory for the people of India”.
The court observed that before taking cognisance of the offence under IPC, “prior prosecution sanction had not been taken” by the Central government or the state government or the District Magistrate.
“It is really surprising that prosecution was not aware that for offences punishable under Chapter-VI IPC, there was/is a statutory requirement of obtaining prior sanction of Competent Authority. No efforts at all were made to obtain the same,” the court further added.
Dr Kafeel Khan spent around 8 months in a Mathura jail following this case filed by the UP Police.
Uttar Pradesh STF arrested him from the Mumbai airport on January 29, 2020 for allegedly making inflammatory statements at the Aligarh Muslim University during anti-CAA protests in December 2019. Khan was arrested in a joint operation with the Mumbai Police when he arrived in the megapolis to attend anti-CAA protests.
He had hogged the headlines after being arrested and jailed for his alleged role in the deaths of over 60 children at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in August 2017 due to alleged oxygen shortage.
But, two years later, a state government probe report cleared him of all major charges but he continued to suffer. Government did not reinstate him while the other seven who were suspended along with him were taken back to their jobs.
