Dr Kafeel Khan, who was detained under the National Security Act has been released. Khan was lodged at the Mathura jail in Uttar Pradesh since January 29. He was set free at midnight following the order by the Allahabad High Court.
The Gorakhpur-based doctor was arrested from Mumbai in January this year. He was booked under NSA for allegedly delivering a provocative speech at Aligarh Muslim University in December 2019. This incident took place during the protests there over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA.
The Allahabad Court had revoked his detention under NSA and ordered immediate release. The Court said that the extension of his detention under the stringent law was “illegal”. The order was passed by the bench comprising of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh. They were hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen, seeking his release. Khan’s mother Nuzhat Parveen, sought his release on grounds that he had been detained illegally.
In her petition, Parveen said her son had been granted bail in February, but the NSA was invoked against him before he could be released. Parveen said he was not released for four days after he was given bail, therefore making his detention illegal.
Hailing the Allahabad High Court directive, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she hoped the Uttar Pradesh government would immediately release him “without any malice”.
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