News Analysis India

Tag: Kafeel Khan

  • Anti-CAA speech: Allahabad HC quashes criminal proceedings against Kafeel Khan

    By PTI

    ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday quashed criminal proceedings against paediatrician Kafeel Khan over an anti-CAA speech made by him at the Aligarh Muslim University campus due to lack of necessary sanction from the government.

    A single-judge bench of Justice Gautam Chaudhary set aside a chargesheet and cognisance order passed against Khan, noting that requisite sanction was not taken by district magistrate from central and state governments under section 196(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for such cases.

    However, he made it clear that the chargesheet and its cognisance may be taken by the court after the mandatory sanction is granted under section 196 (a) of the CrPC by the central as well as the state government.

    The chargesheet and cognisance order was passed against Khan by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Aligarh in a case wherein Khan had delivered an alleged inflammatory speech during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at AMU in 2019.

    Following the event, an FIR was lodged against Khan under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 505(2) (statement creating or promoting, enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and 109 (abetment of offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

    Consequently, he was arrested and sent to jail.

    The police submitted the chargesheet before the Aligarh court on March 16, 2020 and the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) took its cognisance on July 28, 2020.

    Khan then filed a petition challenging it.

    According to section 196(a) of the CrPC, no court shall take cognisance of any offence under section 153A of the IPC except with the previous sanction of the central government or state government or the district magistrate.

  • Allahabad HC quashes criminal proceedings against Kafeel Khan in anti-CAA speech case

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In a huge relief to Dr Kafeel Khan, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday quashed the entire criminal proceedings pending against him over his speech given about CAA and NRC at a protest meeting at Aligarh Muslim University in December 2019. 

    The Bench of Justice Gautam Chaudhary has quashed the entire criminal proceedings, which were initiated pursuant to his alleged provocative speech and the cognizance order passed by the chief judicial magistrate of Aligarh. Dr Kafeel Khan had spent 7.5 months in a Mathura jail following the case registered by the UP Police.

    National Security Act (NSA) was also invoked by the UP government against Dr Khan. However, last year the Allahabad High Court quashed Dr Khan’s detention under NSA. The court had observed that the speech delivered by Dr Khan was a call for national integration. 

    Reacting to the development, Dr Kafeel Khan said that it was a big victory for the people of India restoring his faith in judiciary. 

    “We also hope this judgment will give hope to all the pro-democracy citizens and activists languishing in jails,”  said Dr Kafeel. 

  • Another  disciplinary action pending against Dr Kafeel for various incidents: UP govt to HC

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: In a pending case relating to the suspension of Dr Kafeel Ahmad Khan, a pediatrician at BRD Medical College of Gorakhpur, the state government informed the Allahabad High Court that another independent disciplinary proceeding was going on against the doctor with respect to various incidents which occurred during the period of the first suspension while he was attached to the office of Director, Medical Health.

    As a result of the above-mentioned disciplinary proceeding, an order of suspension was separately passed in it.

    While making submissions in the High Court on Wednesday, additional advocate general (AAG), Manish Goyal claimed that the inquiry was yet to conclude and the order of suspension passed therein continued to hold the field.

    Taking these submissions of AAG on record, Justice Yashwant Varma asked the state government to bring on record by way of an affidavit regarding another suspension order as well as other necessary facts regarding the earlier order of suspension dated August 22, 2017, within two weeks.

    In addition to it, the AAG in response to earlier order of the court, apprised the court that pursuant to earlier order of suspension dated August 22, 2017, Dr Kafeel was attached to the office of the Director, Medical Education.

    Dr Kafeel was suspended from service on August 22, 2017, following the death of about 60 infants in the BRD Medical College hospital due to lack of oxygen. Subsequently, he was separately suspended in respect of various incidents which occurred in that office.

    The court posted the matter for August 31, 2021, as the next date of hearing of the matter.