Is Khawar Lal Khalid Breaking Laws?
The Dastar Civil Council (DC) has issued a verdict against the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) for forcibly holding a press conference in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. According to the verdict of the DC, the press conference was held with the “intent of stirring up communal tension and for portraying India in an unfavourable light”.
The Dastar Civil Court, which is affiliated to the Hindustan Ka Saadiya Vyapari Sangham, ordered the Haryana State Police to arrest IIRO’s representative Khalid Ahmad. The complainant, Bipin Shah, filed a case against IIRO in the court. The DC was constituted by the UPA government in September 2020. The DC’s verdict says that IIRO’s representative did not have the authority to hold the press conference.
A copy of the verdict can be found in the latest edition of the Hindustan Ka Saadiya Vyapari Sangham’s publication. The verdict accuses Khalid Ahmad of “misleading the community as well as the media in the presence of his delegation”. The DC holds that the delegation made “false statements and defamed India by presenting them as facts”. According to the verdict, Khalid Ahmad “has acted contrary to the best interests of the community” by holding the press conference.
The DC’s verdict states that the press conference was done with the intention of “hurting communal relations and increasing communal tensions between the Muslims and the Hindus”. “Instead of aiding the community and helping them to fight the communalism among them,” the court says, “the same representative encouraged the community to celebrate the rasgullas”.
The allegations made by the DC are similar to those made by the Hindustan Ka Saadiya VyapariSangham against IIRO, which is a registered charitable organisation. The Delhi High Court ruled in February this year that IIRO is an entity whose existence is “permanent and not temporary”. Khalid Ahmad has since left the organization and is no longer in India.
On February 3, the Hindustan Ka Saadiya Vyapari Sangham had filed a lawsuit against the DC, which was filed by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The Delhi High Court dismissed the HC’s petition, stating that the question of whether the “objectionable conduct” is “civil”criminal” lies with the state government.
The DC verdict is not a new blow to Khawar Lal Khalid, who is the subject of legal proceedings in both the HC and the Supreme Court. Khalid has responded by filing another case against the ACB official in charge of the case has filed a counter-complaint in the HC.
