Allahabad High Court order on Lucknow banners | Supreme Court to hear U.P. appeal on March 12

The Allahabad High Court had ordered the district and police authorities in Lucknow to “forthwith” remove roadside banners displaying the personal details of select persons accused of “vandalism” during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in December 2019.

A poster with photographs of those who have been identified to pay the compensation for vandalising public properties during anti-CAA protests is displayed in Lucknow on March 6, 2020.

The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday an appeal filed by the Uttar Pradesh government challenging an

Allahabad High Court order to the district and police authorities in Lucknow to “forthwith” remove

roadside banners displaying the personal details of select persons accused of “vandalism” during the anti-

Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in December 2019.

A Vacation Bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Aniruddha Bose is scheduled to hear the State's special leave petition.

The petition is against the finding of a Bench led by Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Govind Mathur that had

suo motu taken cognisance of the issue. The High Court had summoned the Lucknow District Magistrate and police chief for an explanation and held that the wayside posters were a violation of individual privacy, a fundamental right which globally "underpins human dignity and key values of a democracy".

In a 14-page order on March 9, it said, “This fundamental right provides lungs to the edifice of our entire constitutional system... Slightest injury to it is impermissible as that may be fatal for our values designed and depicted in the Preamble of the Constitution”.

The State has argued that the High Court erred in invoking public interest jurisdiction, saying it was available only to address the problems plaguing the underprivileged lot. The persons whose personal details were displayed on the banners were “capable enough to agitate their grievance, if any, at their own”.

In its order, the High Court had addressed this line of argument, saying the “economic status of the persons directly affected in such matters is not material. The prime consideration before the Court is to prevent the assault on fundamental rights”.

The State has challenged the jurisdiction of the Allahabad Bench of the High Court to suo motu take cognisance of the banners in Lucknow. There is a separate Bench in Lucknow.

The State has argued that the object of displaying personal details of the individuals is to deter the mischief mongers from causing damage to public and private property. Courts should not interfere in bona fide action by invoking the public interest jurisdiction.

The High Court had justified its suo motu intervention, saying public display of the personal details of citizens on roadside banners is “undemocratic functioning of government agencies which are supposed to treat all members of public with respect and courtesy and at all time should behave in manner that upholds constitutional and democratic values”.

It said, “Unwarranted interference in the privacy of a person” by depicting personal data on the side of a road is not the part of any legal process for payment of compensation for alleged vandalism”. It concluded: “Placement of personal data of selected persons reflects colourable exercise of powers by the Executive”.

The banners sought compensation from the accused persons and further to confiscate their property, if they failed to pay the compensation.