'Highly unjust': Allahabad HC orders removing anti-CAA protesters posters

The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Lucknow adminstration to remove posters of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests in December.

The bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha directed the district magistrate and the Lucknow police commissioner to submit a report in this regard by March 16.

The court, which had on March 7 taken suo motu cognisance of the issue, on Sunday had termed the move "highly unjust" and said it was an "absolute encroachment on personal liberty of individuals".

The posters bearing photographs, names and addresses of those accused of vandalism during the anti-CAA protests had come up at major road crossings in Lucknow late on Thursday night on the directions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an official had said.

In Lucknow, around 50 people were identified by police as alleged rioters and were served notices.

The posters said the property of the accused will be confiscated if they fail to pay compensation.

Activist-politician Sadaf Jafar and former IPS officer S R Darapuri were among those whose photos appeared on the posters.

During the hearing on Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh government had asserted that it was a "deterrent" action and the court should not interfere in such a matter.

As the bench rose, it expressed hope that "good sense would prevail" on the state and it would remove the hoardings before 3 pm and apprise the court about this at that time. The court then reserved its order till 2 pm on Monday.