The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday expunged the remarks made by a judge in the Bareilly court lauding Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and said that a judicial officer should refrain from expressing personal notions while issuing orders, Bar and Bench reported.
Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra said that Additional Sessions Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar had made “unwarranted expressions” that had political overtones and personal views in a March 5 order relating to the 2010 Bareilly riots case.
Mishra said that the judicial order is meant for public consumption and such an order is likely to be misconstrued. “It is expected from [a] judicial officer that he should use a very guarded expression while focusing upon the issue in hand and should not use any observation which are tangent or alien to the core issue,” Mishra added.
Diwakar had observed in his March 5 order that those in positions of power should be “religious persons” such as Adityanath.
“The main reason for riots in India is that the political parties here are engaged in appeasement of a particular religion, due to which the morale of prominent people of that particular religion increases so much and they believe that even if riots etc. if they get it done, not even a hair will be left unturned due to power protection,” his order said, according to Bar and Bench.
Diwakar had also directed that a copy of his order be sent to Adityanath.
Diwakar had made the statements during a hearing in connection with the 2010 Bareilly riots case in which the trial court had summoned Muslim cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan.
The trial court had said that Khan was the mastermind behind the riots and questioned why he had not been included in the chargesheet despite there being sufficient evidence against him.
In 2010, Khan had allegedly made a speech in which he said that he was against Hindus, Bar and Bench reported.
In his March 5 order, Diwakar said that there was sufficient grounds to summon Khan for trial.
“The police post was set on fire and the houses of Hindus were set ablaze and women were treated indecently,” the judge had said. “Therefore, in the interest of justice, an FIR [first information report] has been lodged against the accused Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.”
Khan had filed a criminal revision petition before the Allahabad High Court to set aside the order in response to the trial court’s summons.
On Tuesday, the High Court said that the matter required consideration and listed the hearing after two weeks.
Mishra also refused to grant relief to Khan in connection with the non-bailable warrant issued against him. However, he said that the warrant should not be executed until March 27.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!