The Supreme court on Thursday is set to hear a petition filed by Uttar Pradesh government challenging the Allahabad high court order of removal of hoardings comprising photos and other personal details of anti-CAA hooligans who had damaged public property during riots.
The bench of justices UU Lalit and Aniruddha Bose of the Supreme court will hear the petition.
The High Court on Monday ordered Lucknow District Magistrate and Commissioner of Police to remove the hoardings comprising pictures of Anti-CAA rioters and their personal details. The court stated that the state’s action “violates” Article 21 of the Constitution and is an infringement of privacy.
An Allahabad High court bench of Justices had Govind Mathur and Ramesh Sinha said, “Privacy is an intrinsic part of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and the actions of the state government amount to an unwarranted interference into it.”
The HC bench also stated, “why the personal data of these persons have been placed on banners though in the State there are lakhs of accused persons who are facing serious allegations pertaining to the commission of crimes whose personal details have not been subjected to publicity.”
The Uttar Pradesh government had vowed to move the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court order in its bid to continue “profiling” the rioters.
The UP government has put up hoardings of 57 anti-CAA rioters in prominent intersections in state capital Lucknow. The hoardings included their names, addresses, and photos of the rioters who damaged public property during the riots that claimed 22 lives in December last year. They were asked to pay the penalty within a month.