Plea filed in Delhi HC against arrests linked to 'I Love Muhammad' posters

New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) The Muslim Students Organisation of India (MSO) and Raza Academy, a Sunni group, have moved Delhi High Court challenging multiple FIRs and arrests made in connection with 'I Love Muhammad' posters, which they claimed were "expressions of devotion".

The PIL claimed that the FIRs were "communal in nature" and violated their "fundamental rights".

The FIRs were lodged at various places, including Kaiserganj and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, against "ordinary citizens from the Muslim community who merely sought to celebrate their religious festivals and express their devotion to god by way of posters, banners, and peaceful gatherings", the petitioners claimed.

"However, without any cogent or independent evidence, they have been framed in multiple criminal cases by members of the majority community, who levelled allegations of rioting, criminal intimidation, and breach of peace against them," the petition said.

It added that the FIRs were communal in nature and appeared to have been lodged with the sole object of "criminalising the religious expression of a minority group".

The genesis of the controversy dates back to September 9 when police in Kanpur filed an FIR against nine named and 15 unidentified persons for allegedly installing boards with "I Love Muhammad" written on them on a public road during a Barawafat procession.

Hindu groups objected to it, calling it "deviation from tradition" and a "deliberate provocation”.

The row later drew the attention of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who asserted that saying "I Love Muhammad" was not a crime.

The controversy soon spread across several districts of Uttar Pradesh and to states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka, sparking protests and police crackdowns. PTI UK ARI