A public interest litigation (PIL) has been instituted before the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of multiple first information reports (FIRs) filed against members of the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for displaying posters and banners during the Mila-un-Nabi festival.
The petition, filed by Shujaat Ali, representing Raza Academy and serving as the National President of the Muslims Students Organisation of India, challenges what it terms as “false and communal FIRs” lodged against individuals who displayed banners bearing the message ‘I Love Muhammad’ in Kanpur, Bahraich, and Udharmsingh Nagar.
According to the plea, the impugned FIRs invoke provisions relating to rioting, criminal intimidation, and breach of peace, but are devoid of evidentiary support. It alleges that members of the majority community levelled the charges to criminalise peaceful religious expression. “However, without any cogent or independent evidence, they have been framed in multiple criminal cases by members of the majority community, who have levelled allegations of rioting, criminal intimidation, and breach of peace against them,” the petition states.
The petitioner has invoked Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, and 25 of the Constitution, asserting that the FIRs not only curtail freedom of speech and expression but also violate the guarantee of religious liberty. Stressing the impact on constitutional morality, the plea contends, “Criminalising peaceful religious expression not only harms the petitioners but also undermines the secular fabric of the nation.”
The petition was advanced through advocate Lakshay Sharma, who submitted that the police actions in both States amount to a disproportionate response that erodes citizen's trust in the protection of their fundamental rights.
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