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Court said there was nothing to suggest that the speeches delivered by the appellant were in any manner disturbing the public order
The Supreme Court has ordered release of Muslim cleric Salman alias Mufti Mohammad Salman Azhari detained by the Gujarat government authorities for his alleged hate speech.
"Having gone through the material on record we find that the order of detention cannot be sustained as apparently there is nothing to suggest that the speeches delivered by the appellant are in any manner disturbing the public order," a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale said.
The court set aside the Gujarat High Court's order of July 29, 2024 and detention order of February 16, 2024, issued by the District Magistrate, Junagadh.
Senior advocate Huzefa A Ahmadi, appearing for the appellant assailed the order while Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, and state counsel Swati Ghildiyal, defended the detention.
The appellant's plea for seeking writ of habeas corpus challenging the detention order was dismissed by the High Court.
The Gujarat police had initially arrested the preacher from Mumbai for delivering an alleged hate speech at an event held in an open ground near the 'B' division police station at Junagadh on the night of January 31.
He was detained under the exercise of powers conferred upon him under sub-section 1 of Section 3 of the Gujarat Prevention of Anti Social Activities Act, 1985.
The High Court, however, upheld the validity of the detention order, saying it seemed to be based on requisite satisfaction and while making the order, there was proper application of mind to all relevant circumstances and power had not been exercised for improper purpose and had acted independently.
It needs to be noted that, the speeches delivered by the petitioner cannot be confined to an individual and considering the repercussions of the addressing, it would lead to the public disorder, the High Court had said.
The appellant's plea that the grounds of detention furnished in Gujarati, a language not known to him was also rejected.
The appellant belonged to Karnataka State and had settled at Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Case Title: Salman @ Mufti Mohammad Salman Azhari Vs The State of Gujarat & Ors
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