Blow To UP Government As Allahabad HC Holds NSA Invalid On Dr Kafeel Khan, Orders Immediate Release

LUCKNOW || The Uttar Pradesh government suffered a major setback on Tuesday when the Allahabad High Court held invalid the National Security Act (NSA) slapped on Dr Kafeel Khan for an alleged speech against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA. The court also directed the state government to "immediately free" him as the detention was illegal.

The HC observed that the speech which became the basis of NSA being slapped on him by Yogi Adityanath led state government, "did not show any effort to promote hate or violence". Khan had been charged by the government after a speech he delivered at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) last year.

Blow To UP Government As Allahabad HC Holds NSA Invalid On Dr Kafeel Khan, Orders Immediate Release

The former doctor at the BRD Medical college in Gorakhpur Kafeel Khan is currently in the Mathura jail after he was arrested on January 29. He was given a bail on February 10 but two days later the state government invoked the NSA on him, making his freedom untenable.

"A complete reading of the speech prima facie does not disclose any effort to promote hatred or violence. It also no where threatens peace and tranquility of the city of Aligarh," the high court said while adding that "it appears that the District Magistrate had selective reading and selective mention for few phrases from the speech ignoring its true intent."