2010 Bareilly riot case: HC declines to stay NBW against Tauqeer Raza

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court on Tuesday declined to stay the NBW issued against Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan in the 2010 Bareilly riot case. The court directed the elusive cleric to appear before the trial court on or before March 27 and apply for bail. Furthermore, the court directed the trial court to decide his bail application strictly in accordance with the law.
The court said that the NBW would not be executed against him until then, with a view to give him an opportunity to appear before the lower court.
The court also expunged certain remarks made by an additional sessions judge of Bareilly in one of his orders pertaining to the 2010 Bareilly Riots case, wherein he had praised UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
“I have gone through the order under challenge whereby the learned trial court, while passing the impugned order, mentioned certain unwarranted expressions containing political overtones and personal views,” justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra said.
“Besides this, he has also shared his personal experiences in the said order, which is not at all required while passing a judicial order. It is not expected from the judicial officer to express or depict his personal or preconceived notions or inclinations in the matter. The judicial order is meant for public consumption, and such type of order is likely to be misconstrued by the masses,” he said.
The court further said that it was expected from a judicial officer to use very guarded expressions while focusing on the issue at hand and to refrain from making observations that were tangential or alien to the core issue.