Posters of anti-CAA protestors: UP moves top court on HC order

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging the Allahabad High Court order directing the state adminstration to remove posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests.

The appeal filed by the state is scheduled to be heard on Thursday by a vacation bench of justices U U Lalit and Aniruddha Bose, advocate general for Uttar Pradesh Raghvendra Singh

said.

Singh, however, refused to divulge the grounds of appeal against the March 9 order of the high court which had also asked the Uttar Pradesh government not to install such posters "without having the authority of law".

The high court had ordered immediate removal of roadside posters in Lucknow with names and photos of those accused of vandalism during the anti-CAA protests, observing that the police action was an "unwarranted interference" in privacy of people.

It had also directed the district magistrate and the Lucknow police commissioner to submit a compliance report on or before March 16.

The posters were displayed to "name and shame" the accused who had allegedly caused damage to public property during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) on December 19 in the state capital.

Activist-politician Sadaf Jafar and former IPS officer SR Darapuri were among those whose names and photos were put up at major road crossings in Lucknow.

In its order, the high court had observed that action of the authorities was a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution under which no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by

law.