New Delhi: At a press conference titled “Against State Excesses and Attacks on Human Rights Defenders,” concerned citizens, human rights activists, lawyers, politicians, and students united to condemn the harassment and intimidation faced by Nadeem Khan, National Secretary of APCR (Association for Protection of Human Rights), along with his family, employees, and the Delhi office of the organisation.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde recalled his numerous visits to press briefings organised by Nadeem Khan for the release of APCR fact-finding reports.
“Nadeem has worked tirelessly on lynching cases without regard to the victims’ religion,” he noted, referencing the lynching of police inspector Subodh Kumar Singh in Uttar Pradesh. Hegde emphasised that due to Nadeem’s intervention, the accused remain behind bars and the case continues in the Supreme Court.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan criticised the systemic misuse of law enforcement, saying, “Instead of prosecuting perpetrators of communal violence, mob lynchings, and bulldozer demolitions, the police are filing FIRs against those exposing these injustices, like Nadeem Khan.”
Bhushan praised APCR’s commitment to documenting hate crimes and called the police’s actions an alarming sign of complicity. He urged accountability for Delhi police officers involved in the alleged intimidation and false charges.
Writer and activist Farah Naqvi framed the issue as a broader attack on democratic principles. “This is not just about Nadeem or APCR; it’s about recasting basic acts of citizenship as crimes,” she said, condemning the systematic efforts to criminalise human rights advocacy.
Supreme Court advocate Nizam Pasha highlighted procedural violations in the case, stating that the charges against Nadeem carry penalties of less than three years. “As per Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar and Section 35(b) of the BNSS, the law does not permit arrest without due procedure in such cases. Yet, the Delhi police violated jurisdictional rules and procedural safeguards,” he explained.
Kavita Srivastava, President of PUCL, pointed to the suspiciously swift actions of the Delhi police.
“If the FIR was registered at 12:48 PM, it is impossible for the police to have reached Bengaluru within hours without prior planning,” she said.
Srivastava decried the raids and harassment as an attempt to instil fear and announced a national solidarity campaign on December 9, ahead of International Human Rights Day.
Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said that it is said judiciary is the last hope but now it is a ‘lost hope’. He stated that the charges against Nadeem include preaching hate and that if this is a new category, “the entire cabinet should be behind bars.”
Former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed lamented the growing identity-based targeting in the country, declaring, “Nadeem has become a symbol for us all – we will fight.”
