Gareeb Nawaz Masjid Demolition- Allahabad HC Seeks UP Govt Response On Plea For Quashing Of FIR Over 'The Wire' Report

The Allahabad High Court today sought the reply of the Uttar Pradesh Government on a plea filed by 2 Journalists [Seraj Ali and Mukul Singh Chauhan] and the news portal 'The Wire' seeking quashing of FIR registered against them for their report on Gareeb Nawaz Masjid Demolition.The FIR in question was registered against them for their report on the alleged Gareeb Nawaz Mosque illegal demolition (Ramsanehighat, Barabanki) issue in Uttar Pradesh under Sections 153, 153-A, 505(1)(b), 120-B, 34 IPC.The Bench of Justice Ramesh Singh and Justice Saroj Yadav has sought the reply of the Uttar Pradesh Government by October 21.The FIR, apart from the petitioners, also names Mohammad Anees, secretary of the mosque committee, and Mohammad Naeem, one of the local residents, as in the video, The Wire journalists (petitioners herein) were seen speaking to them. The FIR had been lodged on the basis of a complaint lodged on a complaint filed by Mahendra Singh.Uttar Pradesh Police Register FIR Against The Wire, 2 Journalists For Their Report On Gareeb Nawaz Mosque DemolitionThe FIR alleges that the Journalists, intentionally, to spread 'animosity in society' and 'disturb communal harmony, uploaded the video on Twitter regarding the legal demolition of an 'illegal building" (mosque).The averments in the pleaThe plea states that said incident of mosque demolition and the various allegations on how the demolition was carried out, were within the common knowledge of the local residents at Ram Sanehi Ghat, Barabanki, and others, and therefore Section 505(1)(b) IPC is not made out as there was no question of causing alarm.The FIR quashing plea further avers that no unrest had been reported after the news reports and the Petitioners' video was published only on 22 June, 2021, more than a month after the demolition and publication of these various news reports."...the Petitioners do not assert the truthfulness of the allegations being made by the interviewees, ie., the mosque committee members and local residents, regarding the demolition, their holy books, prayer mats lying in the rubble/water, etc (which were anyway in the public domain) and the Petitioner No.s 2 and 3 also contacted the SDM to publish the State's side of the story but the SDM said he did not know anything about the incident," the plea adds.Therefore, the plea contends that given that the factum of demolition and the allegations made in The Wire's video were already reported by several news media organizations a month earlier itself, and the same were not refuted by the State, there was no basis for the police to claim that the allegations made in the Wire's video by the interviewees are false/unverified or that there was any tendency to create public disorder.Senior Advocate IB Singh and Advocate Surangama Sharma appeared for the petitioners.Related newsEarlier, the Allahabad High Court had rejected the plea filed by Secretary of the Gareeb Nawaz Masjid Committee, Mohammad Anees, and a local resident of Barabanki, Mohd. Naeem seeking quashing of the First Information Report (FIR) registered against them by the Uttar Pradesh Police.It may be noted that the Gareeb Nawaz Masjid was demolished in May 2021 by the district administration in Barabanki, claiming it to be an "illegal structure". Thereafter, the Barabanki Police had lodged a case against eight people "who were members of a committee", for allegedly resorting to fraud and cheating to get the mosque registered as a Waqf property.

Gareeb Nawaz Masjid Demolition- Allahabad HC Seeks UP Govt Response On Plea For Quashing Of FIR Over 'The Wire' Report

Sparsh Upadhyay

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