Upholding civil rights

IN an affirmation of civil rights, the Allahabad High Court has ordered the release of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was in jail under the National Security Act for making an allegedly provocative speech at Aligarh Muslim University on the Citizenship Amendment Bill that led to the charge of promoting enmity between communities against him. The court, while holding his detention as illegal, said the incarceration was the result of ‘selective reading and selective mention of phrases’ and that there was no attempt in the speech to disturb peace and tranquility in the city of Aligarh. Dr Kafeel Khan has quoted instances from the Ramayana to remind the Uttar Pradesh Government that by insisting on punishing him, it was only resorting to child-like obduracy or baal hath—a possible allusion to an electoral fallout considering that he now wants to work for the flood-hit in Bihar and Assam, states where Assembly elections are due in the months ahead.

Not surprisingly, his release has been welcomed by the Opposition, with the Samajwadi Party raising the demand for the release of its leader Azam Khan, who is in jail on land-grab charges. Dr Khan has also told the government that it should perform ‘Raj Dharma’, a term the connotation of which has a familiar ring for the present BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for its use in another time, to underline the need for social harmony and inclusive politics. The doctor has also conveyed his apprehension of being implicated in another case in a reference to the prevailing law and order situation in the state.

Dr Khan, a paediatrician at a hospital in Gorakhpur, the constituency of the UP Chief Minister, had landed in trouble when he accused the government of institutional failure after many children died there due to lack of oxygen cylinders. The state government also needs to dispel the charge of political vendetta and restore the confidence of the people, shaken due to measures like the seizure of property of the anti-CAA protesters. The release of Dr Khan by the court could well provide a stepping stone.