NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the Allahabad Superior Court verdict that had annulled the detention of Dr. Kafeel Khan under the National security law (NSA) and ordered his immediate release.
A bank headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde, who was listening to the Uttar Pradesh government’s statement challenging the high court’s Sept. 1 verdict, said it is “good judgment.”
“We will not interfere with the trial. However, the observation will not affect any other process, ”said the court, which also includes Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.
Attorney General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the state, told the court that the observation made by the higher court exonerates Khan at criminal proceedings.
“Criminal cases will be decided on their own merits,” the court observed.
Khan had made headlines after the 2017 tragedy at Baba Raghav Das Medical College (BRD) in Gorakhpur, in which several children died due to a lack of oxygen cylinders. Initially, he was hailed as a savior for staging an emergency oxygen cylinders but then he faced action along with nine other doctors and hospital staff, all of whom were later released on bail.
In its verdict of September 1, the high court had overturned khanhe was detained under the NSA and ordered his immediate release, saying that his speech at the AMU did not promote hatred or violence and called for national integrity.
The higher court had said that the Aligarh district magistrate, who had approved the warrant for KhanDuring the arrest, he made a “selective reading” of his speech, “ignoring his true intention”.
The higher court had allowed the petition filed by Khanthe mother, Nuzhat Parveen, and said that the arrest warrant issued by the district judge was illegal.
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