HC quashes externment of 2 SDPI leaders, says calling Babri demolition wrong not anti-national

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has quashed the Mumbai Police's externment orders against two Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) functionaries, observing that saying the "Babri Masjid should not have been demolished" is not anti‑national.

The police action appeared to be selective and influenced by the religion of the petitioners, a single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar said in the judgment on Tuesday.

The court set aside the externment orders against Firoz Abdul Wahab Khan and Mohammad Rafiq Gulam Rasul Ansari.

In December 2025, the Mumbai Police issued orders that barred the duo from Mumbai for one year.

The police action was based on three FIRs registered over their participation in protests concerning the Waqf Bill, air pollution caused by cement godowns, and the Babri Masjid issue.

Taking exception to the reliance on the Babri Masjid protest, Justice Jamdar orally remarked that expressing a view on the demolition of the mosque cannot be treated as anti-national.

According to them, Babri Masjid should not have been demolished; that is their perception. How is it anti-national? "That cannot be anti-national. Everybody has got the right," the judge said.

The bench also criticised police for singling out the two petitioners, noting that workers from other political parties had also participated in the same demonstrations.

The FIRs merely referred to sloganeering and did not indicate any damage to persons or public property, the court noted, adding that fundamental rights cannot be curtailed based on speculative apprehensions.

Chief Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray, representing the state, alleged that the accused had links with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and their conduct could incite social disharmony.

The court, however, refused to rely on the alleged PFI links, noting that this claim did not form part of the show-cause notice issued to the petitioners.