Bareilly: The Allahabad High Court, on Wednesday, March 11, ordered police protection for Haseen Khan, owner of the house which allegedly received threats of “bulldozer action” for praying namaz in it.
A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan ordered the deployment of armed police protection while hearing Khan, who claimed he was prevented from offering prayer inside his private property. He sought protection for himself, his family and his house.
“This Court directs that two armed guards 24/7 shall protect Haseen Khan till this Court decides otherwise. The said guards shall accompany him wherever he goes,” the court said.
The bench asked Bareilly‘s District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police to be present in the next scheduled hearing.
“Pursuant to the last order passed by this Court, the prospective contemnors, District Magistrate, Bareilly, Avinash Singh, and Senior Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, Anurag Arya, shall remain present before this Court on the next date of hearing, when the judgment shall be delivered,” the bench said.
The court warned that any violence against Khan would be seen as the State’s action, though the presumption could be rebutted later. “Any incident of violence that afflicts Hassen Khan’s person or his property shall be prima facie understood to have at the instance of the State, which, of course, is open to rebuttal,” the bench added.
The bench noted Khan’s statement, where he alleged that police detained him for offering prayers at his home. “I was offering namaz at my house that day. My family members were also praying with me. The police took me away and issued a challan against me,” Khan told the court.
Khan said some locals threatened him that if he did not speak “as per their instructions,” his property would be demolished.
“Later, Arif Pradhan and Mukhtiyar met me and said that if I do not speak in court as they want, a bulldozer will be used against my house,” he stated.
Khan also said that he was taken outside his village, where the police forced him to put his thumb impression on a certain document, which he could not read because he is illiterate.
The court listed the matter for March 23 and directed that a copy of the order be sent to the office of the Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh
so Khan can have immediate protection. The two-judge bench warned that if the DM and SSP fail to appear in the next hearing, they would issue non-bailable warrants against the two officers.Previously, the High Court had issued a contempt notice to both DM Avinash Singh and SSP Anurag Arya for preventing a group of Muslims from offering prayers inside the private property in Mohammadganj village, citing its earlier ruling allowing group prayers in private property, which also applies to the present case.
This post was last modified on March 12, 2026 3:24 pm