Lucknow: 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 in Uttar Pradesh 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 Thursday night.
Darapuri and Jafar were earlier arrested in December in connection with anti-CAA protests here. They were granted bail in January.
Reacting to the order, Sadaf Jafar said he is extremely satisfied. “The judgment is extremely welcome because it reiterates our faith in the Constitution of the country, and also in the judiciary. Secondly, it also sends a strong signal to the government that the state shall be run not by the authoritarianism, but by the rule of law,” said Jafar.
The activist, 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,” said Jafar.
When contacted, Darapuri said, “We welcome the judgment because it proved that in UP, the rule of law will prevail and not the anarchy (aarajaktaa) of the Yogi (Adityanath) government. This is a victory of democracy and defeat of dictatorship.”
Darapuri added that earlier he had written to the DGP and the UP 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 administration to remove posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests in December.
Agencies
