Take up Tiwari’s plea immediately, HC told

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Allahabad high court to expeditiously decide Hindu Mahasabha leader Kamlesh Tiwari’s petition challenging slapping of the National Security Act (NSA) for allegedly making certain derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad.

Tiwari has been in jail since his arrest in December last in Lucknow under NSA — a tough law that makes it difficult for an accused to get bail. He was arrested after students of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband and other members of Muslim community staged a protest demanding action against Tiwari.

His counsel Hari Shankar Jain told a bench on Friday that his Habeas Corpus writ petition has not been decided by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad high court. “In our view, a habeas corpus petition has to be given immediate attention and steps should be taken to decide it forthwith,” the bench said.