Allahabad HC orders UP administrators to remove hoardings with pictures and details of anti-CAA protestors

The "name and shame" campaign of the Uttar Pradesh government came to a halt on Sunday when the Allahabad court ordered the administration to remove the hoardings of anti-CAA protestors from the city according to media reports.

The district administration on Thursday had put up hoardings across prominent intersections in Lucknow with pictures and other information including name and addresses of 53 anti-CAA protesters, NDTV had reported.

Despite it being a holiday, the Allahabad High Court took suo moto cognizance of the matter deciding to hear the case related to hoardings on Sunday.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha presided over the matter, Hindustan Times reported.

The Allahbad HC ordered the administration to remove all posters citing the Right to Privacy. The posters and hoardings naming those alleged inciters of violence during anti-CAA protests were acknowledged as "unwarranted interference in privacy,” reported LiveLaw .

"In entirety, we have no doubt that the action of the State, which is the subject matter of this public interest litigation is nothing but an unwarranted interference in the privacy of people. The same hence, violates Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the judgement read as quoted by LiveLaw.

The hearing was based on a PIL filed by advocate Shashank Tripathi on Saturday, The Wire reported. Several human rights activists and others had talked about how the hoardings were a breach of the protestors’ privacy and would potentially put their life in danger, the report said.

The Yogi Adityanath government-led Lucknow administration has to remove the hoardings and provide a compliance report on the same to the registrar general by March 16, the court said according to media reports.

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