High Court orders UP to take down ‘name & shame’ hoardings

The Lucknow district administration to shame as many as 57 people, identified for being allegedly involved in violence during the anti-CAA protest, has been putting up hoardings with their names and addresses at all major crossings in the city.

Lucknow (IANS): Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath government could challenge, in the Supreme Court, the Allahabad High Court’s Monday order for taking down hoardings here with details of anti-CAA protesters.

Though no decision has been taken on the issue, officials went into a huddle soon after the verdict. The Chief Minister was in Gorakhpur on Monday, and a final decision would only be taken in consultation with him.

Adityanath, however, commented on the issue. “The high court order is being studied. The government’s first priority is the security of UP’s 23 crore [230 million] people… whatever decision is in the public interest, that decision will be taken,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath

Following the verdict, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avnish Kumar Awasthi, met Lucknow District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash, Police Commissioner Sujeet Pandey and officials of the Law Department.

The state government, which has been given one week to comply with the high court order, will also consult apex court lawyers about filing the appeal in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s media adviser Mritunjay Kumar, in a tweet, said: “The high court order on removing the posters of the rioters should be understood in the right perspective. Only their poster will be removed, not the cases filed against them.”

A section of Twitter users welcomed the HC verdict.

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