Plea Moved in Delhi HC Seeking Removal of Zafarul Islam Khan From The Position of Chairman of Delhi Minorities Commission [Read Petition]

Filed through Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, the petition seeks removal of Zafarul Islam Khan under section 4(4)(f) of the Delhi Minorities Commission Act.

The Petitioner claims that the Zafarul Islam gave a direct threat of inciting a foreign attack on India by the words allegedly quoted by him in his Facebook post. This, as per the Petitioner, has brought about contempt, hatred and disrespect towards the sovereignty of India.

The continuance of Zafarul Islam as a Chairman despite registration of the FIR, the Petitioner claims, maligns the image of the Minorities Commission in the eyes of the international community.

'a bare perusal of the aforesaid public statement made by Zafarul Islam further categorically reveals that he has deliberately and intentionally promoted enmity between different groups on the ground of religion and has done acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. By using derogatory language against the majority community, Zafarul Islam has further promoted disharmony, feeling of enmity, hatred and ill-will between two groups, which is likely to disturb the public tranquillity and is further likely to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of different religious groups', the petition states.

The Petitioner also submits that the Delhi Police Special Cell has filed an FIR dated 02.05.2020 against Zafarul Islam under Section 124A and 153A IPC for his alleged hateful comment and for allegedly promoting feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence and language.

The Petitioner further argues that:

'The right of freedom of speech and expression cannot be exercised by jeopardizing public law and order. Zafarul Islam has tried to provoke a particular community to resort to violence against the majority community of India.'

In light of these submissions, the Petitioner has asked the court to issue a direction to the Delhi Government, asking it to immediately remove Zafarul Islam Khan from the position of Chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission.