Muzaffarnagar admin issues notices to 300 Muslims for black armband protest against Waqf Act
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Representational.
Muzaffarnagar district administration in UP justified the issue of notices to the Muslim worshippers, who attended prayers on March 28 and Eid at a local wearing a black armbands in protest of the Waqf Act, saying the issuance of notice to about 300 people is legal, adding no fresh notices have been issued since no additional individuals have been identified.
As the legal process moves forward, those who received the notices have begun seeking legal representation and are preparing for a court appearance scheduled on April 16. The protest, which took place at a local mosque, drew attention due to its symbolic expression of dissent.
TIE reports that one of the persons who received the notice said that he was looking for lawyers since he was asked to be present before a court on April 16.
“We have started looking for a lawyer,” he told TIE.
He is also concerned that even if the magistrate decides to invalidate the notice, the problem will be the bond. If anything happens in the district within a period of one year, we may be picked up, the person told TIE.
It was last week, City Magistrate Vikas Kashyap issued the notices after receiving reports from the police. One of these notices, issued on April 3 and reviewed by The Indian Express, orders five men to appear before the City Magistrate’s court on April 16, explain their actions, and submit a bond `of 2 lakh and two sureties of the same amount, with the assurance that they will maintain peace in the jurisdiction for a year, TIE reports.
Muzaffarnagar City SP Satyanarayan Prajapat told TIE earlier that in order to maintain law and order in Muzaffarnagar, elements who could harm the social order were identified. More than 300 people were identified, and notices were issued to them, the officer said.