Bombay HC Restrains Police From Conducting Mock Drills Depicting Terrorists As Belonging To A Particular Community

The Bombay High Court Aurangabad Bench restrained the Police from conducting mock drills depicting persons of a particular community as terrorists.

The Bench of Justice Mangesh Patil and Justice AS Chapalgaonkar said that till the next day of the hearing, no mock drills should be conducted wherein persons of a particular community were depicted as terrorists.

Advocate Sayyed Tauseef Yaseen appeared for the petitioner and PP D. R. Kale appeared for the State.

Social Activist Sayed Usama moved the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and alleged that mock drills were being conducted by Police Department, in attires that depicted the terrorists were Muslims.

The PIL took exception to three mock drills held at Ahmednagar, Chandrapur, and Aurangabad districts where policemen, who played the part of terrorists were dressed as men from the Muslim Community.

*Mock drills are generally conducted by the Police at District levels in order to increase the efficiency of the security force and to be better prepared for emergencies as in case of terror attacks.*

The Court said that the petitioner who was a social activist and a Muslim had raked up the issue involving public interest and had claimed that such mock drills showed bias and prejudice against the Muslim Community.

The Court further directed the Public Prosecutor to apprise the Court about the guidelines, if any, for holding the mock drills.

Accordingly, the matter was listed for further hearing on February 10, 2023.

Cause Title- Sayed Usama s/o Abdul Kadir v. The State of Maharashtra and Ors.

Click here to read/download the Order