Mathura: Dr Kafeel Khan (C) following his release from Mathura jail after the Allahabad High Court quashed his detention under the National Security Act and ordered his immediate release, in Mathura, Tuesday midnight, Sept. 1, 2020. (PTI Photo)

Released late on Tuesday evening after spending seven months in jail, Dr Kafeel Khan claimed the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government was indulging in ‘Baal Hatth‘ (childlike-stubbornness) instead of observing ‘Raj Dharma’. He also said that the state could frame him in another case now that he is out of jail. 

“In Ramayana, Maharshi Valmiki had said that the Raja (king) should act for ‘Raj Dharma’. In UP the ‘Raja’ is not doing ‘Raj Dharma’ but is doing ‘Baal Hatth’ (being stubborn like a child),” PTI quoted Khan as saying.

The Allahabad High Court Tuesday set aside the detention of Dr Kafeel Khan under the National Security Act (NSA) and ordered the UP government to release him “forthwith”. The court ruled that Khan’s address to students at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the anti-CAA protests last December was “a call for national integrity and unity”, and not “any effort to promote hatred or violence”.

In its order, the court described the detention order under the NSA as “bad”, and based on “selective reading and selective mention of few phrases from the speech ignoring its true intent”. The court also pointed to the two-month gap between the speech and the NSA charge, and that the order to extend the detention was not given to Khan.

Khan was lodged at Mathura district jail since January for allegedly making the “provocative speech”. He was charged under the NSA on February 13 and his detention was extended twice. 

“I will always remain thankful to all my well-wishers, who raised their voice for my release. The administration was not ready for release, but because of the prayers (duaa) of people, I have been released,” he said after his release.

He also claimed that he and his family had to face many hardships as the state government was “after” him because of the oxygen issue in BRD Medical College. Khan said he is preparing to help the flood-affected people in Bihar and Assam now. 

Khan first hit headlines after the 2017 tragedy at Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, where several kids died due to lack of oxygen cylinders. While he was hailed as a saviour for the children for arranging emergency oxygen cylinders, he later faced action along with nine other doctors and staff members of the hospital for irregularities in the conduct of their duty. All of them were released on bail.