“Harmony Of The Nation Isn’t So Fragile”: Delhi High Court Grants Interim Protection To Activist Nadeem Khan
News Delhi: On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court granted interim protection from arrest to human rights activist Nadeem Khan. The National Secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) was booked by the Delhi Police under charges of promoting enmity and criminal conspiracy after a video went viral.
Responding to the Delhi Police’s claim that Khan was trying to destroy the peace of the country as demonstrated in the video, the Delhi High Court observed, “The harmony of the nation is not so fragile. It is not so fragile that merely one exhibition, merely someone shouting, it cannot be. Consider people as intelligent…You repose very little faith in the common man. Common man is intelligent,” as quoted by Live Law.
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Khan is required to join the investigation and refrain from leaving Delhi without permission from the investigating officer.
The APCR had set up stalls at an exhibition held in Hyderabad to provide information on legal aid for victims of hate crime, Supreme Court judgements, and government policies on communal issues. Videos at the stall showed speeches made by PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other political leaders.
On November 29, Delhi Police conducted a raid at the Delhi office of the APCR. A day later, police attempted to detain Khan at his brother’s Bengaluru residence.
On November 30, an FIR was filed against him under sections 196, 353(2), and 61 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita after an X (formerly Twitter) post by ‘Mr Sinha’ surfaced online. The tweet alleged that the APCR prompted enmity and violence.
The FIR alleged that the video titled “Records of Hindustan in Modi Sarkar,” uploaded by a YouTube channel “Akram Official 50,” showed Nadeem gesturing towards a banner referencing victims of hate crimes, including Akhlaq, Rohith Vemula, and Pehlu Khan, along with the 2020 Shaheen Bagh protests and Delhi riots.
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The Delhi Police claimed that the exhibition was organised by Jamaat-e-Islami as part of its National Members Conclave in Hyderabad and that it portrayed a particular community as victims, inciting enmity and unrest.
However, the activist emphasised that he had not been served any notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS and pasted a notice on the ACPR New Delhi office’s wall after his lawyers challenged their attempts. Khan expressed his surprise at the police travelling from Delhi to Bengaluru the same day when the FIR was filed.
