Supreme Court directs Allahabad HC to conclude on Dr. Kafeel's bail plea immediately
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Dr. Kafeel Khan
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued direction to Allahabad High Court for immediate disposal of the habeas corpus plea filed by mother of Dr. Kafeel Ahmed Khan who has been detained despite being given bail by the lower court.
A Bench led by Chief Justice SA Bobde heard a petition filed by the petitioner seeking for directions in the habeas corpus plea and directed the High Court to dispose of the pleas immediately, preferably within a period of 15 days.
Senior counsel Indira Jaising, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, submitted to the Court that Dr. Kafeel's petition was a counter-blast to the bail that had been granted to him.
CJI who said that Personal liberty was something they had prioritised at all times and directed the HC to dispose of the matter within 15 days from the date of the parties appeared before it.
An FIR was registered in Aligarh against Dr. Kafeel Khan – a well-known paediatrician- on the basis of a speech he had given on 12th December 2019.
On 29th January 2020, a team comprising members of Special Task Force and Uttar Pradesh Police arrested the physician from Mumbai.
Khan, who was detained in Aligarh Jail before being transferred to Mathura Jail, was granted bail on 10th February. However he was not released and was slapped provisions of National Security Act 1980.
A habeas corpus plea, filed on behalf of Khan's mother, stated that her son was arbitrarily detained under the provisions of the NSA of 1980 devoid of any valid grounds for the detention.
After being arrested on February, the case was registered only on 11th May.
"During this time, the son of the petitioner did and continues to languish under the garb of preventive detention through an order passed under the National Security Act, 1980 arbitrarily and with apparent mala fide intent," the petition says.
The petition also cited how Kafeel's right to access of justice envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution of India was infringed.