Allahabad High Court takes suo motu notice of CAA 'name and shame' hoardings in Lucknow

A division bench of chief justice Govind Mathur and justice Ramesh Sinha will hear the matter in the form of a Public Interest Litigation on Sunday, March 8

A banner naming anti-CAA protesters erected near Hazratganj intersection in Lucknow on Friday.

The Allahabad High Court has taken suo motu notice of the Lucknow administration's controversial decision to 'name and shame' persons accused in the violence during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by putting up their hoardings all over the city.

A division bench of chief justice Govind Mathur and justice Ramesh Sinha will hear the matter in the form of a Public Interest Litigation on Sunday, March 8, as per the court list.

The police put up several hoardings across Lucknow identifying those accused of violence during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December last, triggering those named to fear for their safety.

The names, photographs and residential addresses of the accused are listed in the hoardings.

They have been asked to pay for the damage to public and private property within a stipulated time or have their properties seized by the district administration. The total damage listed in the hoardings amount to ₹1.55 crore.

As many as 57 persons have been identified in separate hoardings that have come up pertaining to the jurisdiction of the Hazratganj, Thakurganj, Hasanganj and Qaiserbagh police station areas.

One of them, with 28 names, put up at the prominent Hazratganj intersection, next to the statue of B.R. Ambedkar, asks them to pay up over ₹64 lakh.

Those served notices in this hoarding include retired IPS officer S.R Darapuri, lawyer and activist Mohammad Shoaib, Congress member Sadaf Jafar, teacher Robin Verma, cultural activist Deepak Kabir and Dalit activist Pawan Rao Ambedkar. The had secured bail in the charges against them and also received notices for damage charges personally.

Many of those featuring on the roadside hoardings expressed anxiety over their safety since their personal information was now exposed to public and possibly unruly elements.

While the Lucknow administration's decision was widely debated on social media, and the Samajwadi Party condemning it, the government has defended it.

UP cabinet minister and government spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh in a tweet on Friday said: "#UP Name and Shame of rioters will put a deterrent under Yogi rule which is as per the law of the land."