CAA posters issue sent to new SC bench

New Delhi, March 12: Terming the putting up of posters of anti-CAA protesters in Lucknow “an issue of significance”, the Supreme Court on Thursday referred the Uttar Pradesh government’s appeal against an Allahabad High Court order asking it to remove the posters to a threejudge bench.

The apex court said the appeal required “further elaboration and consideration”. A vacation bench of justices U.U. Lalit and Aniruddha Bose took note of the issues involved in the matter such as right to privacy and the apex court’s earlier directions on compensation for damages from rioters.

“Considering the nature of the matter and issue of significance involved therein, in our view, the matter be placed before a Bench of at least three judges as early as possible and preferably in the week commencing March 16, 2020,” the bench said.

It also directed the apex court registry to place immediately the case records before the Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde “so that a bench of sufficient strength can be constituted by the Chief Justice of India in the coming week to hear and consider the controversy involved in the matter”.

The Supreme Court also granted liberty to those individuals whose names, pictures and addresses have been displayed in the posters to seek to be impleaded as parties in the appeal of the state government.

“Liberty is granted to those individuals whose names and pictures appeared in the hoardings to implead themselves in the present proceedings. If such applications for impleadment are filed, the Registry is directed to list said applications along with the main matter,” the bench said.