Plea for Dr Kafeel Khan's release: Allahabad HC defers hearing till August 27 [Read Order]

The Allahabad High Court has extended the detention of jailed Uttar Pradesh doctor Kafeel Khan, and adjourned his plea challenging the same till August 27, 2020..A Division Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh deferred the matter on the request of Dr Khan's mother (the petitioner) as well as the State. .On August 11, the Supreme Court had asked the Allahabad High Court to decide within fifteen days the plea for the release of Dr Kafeel Khan. Dr Khan has been lodged in Mathura Jail for an allegedly provocative speech at the Aligarh Muslim University in the backdrop of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act..Supreme Court asks Allahabad High Court to decide in 15 days on plea for Dr. Kafeel Khan's release.While passing its order, the Supreme Court had observed that the matters concerning personal liberty have always been prioritised by the Apex Court. In light of the fact that this matter also involved Khan's personal liberty, the same must be disposed of expeditiously, the top Court said..When the matter came up before the Allahabad High Court today, the petitioner sought time to peruse the affidavit submitted by the State. The State also requested that it be allowed to file a supplementary affidavit responding to the petitioner's rejoinder submitted earlier..In view of the same, the Court directed that the matter be posted for an August 27 hearing, adding that, ."Having considered facts of the case, we also deem it appropriate to peruse original record of the proceedings under National Security Act, 1980 resulting into detention of Dr. Kafeel Khan and further extension of the same.".Dr Khan's mother has challenged his detention under the NSA Act as illegal before the Allahabad High Court and filed a habeas corpus petition for his release..Senior Advocate Dileep Kumar represented Dr Khan's mother and Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal appeared for the State..Read Order here: