The Delhi High Court has sought a status report from the Delhi police on allegations that civil rights activist Mohammad Wasiq Nadeem Khan was illegally confined in Delhi to prevent him from attending a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar on September 29.
A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Sanjay Sharma issued notice on Mr. Khan’s petition, which also alleged continued police surveillance and repeated phone calls seeking information about his whereabouts. The court’s intervention places the conduct of police personnel attached to the Shaheen Bagh police station under judicial scrutiny.
According to the petition, two police personnel allegedly confined Mr. Khan at the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind headquarters in Abul Fazal Enclave, where he has a residence-cum-office, from around 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on September 29. The alleged confinement was intended to stop him from joining a demonstration called by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, the Monitoring Committee of Indian Muslims and other civil society groups.
The protest was against what the petition described as repeated attacks on places of worship. Mr. Khan is the national secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and the founder of the United Against Hate initiative.
During the hearing, the Bench questioned the basis for restricting the activist’s movement. The court orally observed that authorities could deny permission for a protest, but that this would not justify entering a person’s residence and restricting his movement. “How can you enter the house of this man? You have your right to conduct your duty (but) how can you do it in such a way? Where is your cause to confine him?” the court remarked.
Mr. Khan’s counsel told the court that the police personnel allegedly restricted his movement for the entire day. The petition claimed that he was neither formally arrested nor given written grounds for the alleged confinement. It further stated that no arrest memo was prepared, no family member was informed and Mr. Khan was not produced before a magistrate.
The petition also alleged that police personnel continued to contact Mr. Khan about his whereabouts in connection with protests scheduled for October 2 and 5. It sought a declaration that the alleged conduct amounted to harassment and arbitrary action, while referring to directions issued by the Supreme Court to the police and the Union government on the free movement of people.
The police disputed the allegations through its counsel, who submitted that Mr. Khan had not been detained and pointed out that he had travelled to Kolkata the previous week. The police sought time to place its position on record. Its counsel also assured the court that Mr. Khan would not receive any further phone calls from the police.
The court’s notice does not establish whether the alleged confinement occurred or determine the legality of the police conduct. The Delhi police is expected to file its status report before the matter proceeds further.
