I Love Muhammad protest: Allahabad HC grants relief to two Muslim men
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The Allahabad High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to two Muslim men, Nadeem Khan and Bablu Khan, accused in the Bareilly “I Love Muhammad” protest case.
A division bench of Justices Siddharth Varma and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra ordered that the two should not be arrested until the police complete the investigation and file a chargesheet.
The brothers were named in an FIR lodged at Baradari police station over the September 26 protest in Bareilly, which erupted following police action against “I Love Muhammad” posters.
The controversy began in Kanpur and has since led to a wider crackdown across India. According to a recent report by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), police have booked 4,505 Muslims nationwide, with 265 arrested, including 89 from Bareilly, as of October 7, Maktoob Media reported.
A recent fact-finding report has claimed that the police and local administration in Bareilly carried out disproportionate actions and selectively targeted Muslims after the “I Love Muhammad” protest led by cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan.
According to court filings, two Muslim men accused of conspiring to incite unrest during the demonstration sought protection from arrest and asked the Allahabad High Court to dismiss the FIR lodged against them.
At the same time, the High Court began hearing a public interest litigation related to the same incident. The petition, filed by Mohammad Yusuf Ansari, secretary of the Hazrat Khwaja Gareeb Nawaz Welfare Association, through advocates Sehr Naqvi and Mohammad Arif, requests a judicial inquiry into the police’s handling of the protest and its aftermath.
The plea asks for an investigation by a judicial officer of the rank of District Judge into the events of September 26, citing allegations of excessive use of force, unlawful lathi charges, and punitive demolitions. It also calls for accountability of officials allegedly involved in these actions.
The petition further urges the court to stop any bulldozer demolitions conducted without legal authorisation, provide compensation to those whose homes or shops were destroyed, and lift the sealing of local businesses that has disrupted livelihoods. It also seeks measures to prevent the filing of false or fabricated FIRs against innocent people.
During the latest hearing, the High Court reportedly took note of the submissions and instructed all parties to submit detailed responses before the next session.