Page 37 - 15MAR2020E

citizenship

economic defaulters.
So rushed are the authorities in ex-
ecuting the orders that they have in the
photo of Syed Kalbe Sibtain, son of well
known Shia cleric, Syed Kalbe Sadiq,
not cropped or hidden the photo of a
girl student standing alongside. This is
in sheer violation of Child Rights laws
which specify that pictures of minors
can only be used with the consent of
the child’s parents or guardians. Kalbe
Sibtain, a trustee of Unity College and
one of the 57 accused, has strongly ob-
jected to this.
He told Tehelka that this is a direct
attack on the safety and security of the
child and society will not tolerate it. He
said this will have a negative impact on
the child’s psychology and hinder her
growth into a healthy, normal adult.
He also emphatically denied any role
in the violence that followed the pro-
tests and said that he was there just for
a few minutes and left thereafter. Labe-
ling the present regime in the state as
‘Hitlershaahi’, Kalbe Sibtain said people
like him have no faith left in the gov-
ernment and now they only have the
Courts to turn to. Magistrate, as is the law. Maulana Syed
Senior High Court advocate, Mo- Saif Abbas Naqvi, the Shia cleric whose
hammed Haider told Tehelka that it is Legal experts say name appears in the hoarding says that
an unlawful act to put up a picture of a he put his own life in danger and tried
minor without their guardian’s consent that no due process to pacify the crowd and ensured a safe
and more so when it is put up along of law has been passage for the foreign tourists strand-
with an accused by the police is charg- ed at the Bara Imambara in Husain-
ing on charges of vandalism and dam- followed in dealing abad, which was the centre of anti-CAA
aging public property. with the protesters protest in old Lucknow.
Calling it a total failure of the intel-
Demand to remove hoardings While several of them ligence the Maulana suggested that the
Meanwhile there is a growing demand were picked up and government set up an enquiry to check
from the public to remove the hoard- its internal failure.
ings as the matter is sub judicious and imprisoned directly According to the Maulana the videos
is also a gross violation of Human made by the district administration at
Rights. They see it as a blatant attack on without even first the spot will clearly show the role he
Life and Liberty of an individual guar- presenting them played during the protest. The cleric
anteed under the Indian Constitution. said he has many documents, includ-
Legal experts are saying that no before the Judicial ing phone calls of officers, asking him to
due process of law has been followed Magistrate, as is help the administration maintain peace
in dealing with the protesters While to prove his innocence. He said he will
several of them were picked up and the law bring these facts out at the right time.
imprisoned directly without even first
presenting them before the Judicial letters@tehelka.com

37