Plea in Allahabad HC Against UP’s “Name-And-Shame” Ordinance

A PIL has been filed before the Allahabad High Court, challenging the constitutional validity of the Uttar Pradesh Public and Private Property Damages Recovery Ordinance, 2020 (Ordinance). The petition has been filed by two practicing Advocates of the High Court along with a social activist and a journalist, stating that the Ordinance fails its objective of “de-escalation of violence”. The Petitioners, through Advocates Shashwat Anand and Ankur Azad, state that this field is already covered by the Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act, 1984, and that the Ordinance is repugnant to the same, and as such is void to the extent of repugnancy under Article 254 of the Constitution. It has been referred to as the “Name-and-Shame” Ordinance by the Petitioners in as much as Section 13 of the Ordinance prescribes for publication of an accused person’s personal details, in case of his non-appearance before the Claims Tribunal. Advocate Shashank Shri Tripathi, who has also challenged the Ordinance in a separate writ petition, asserts that the Ordinance is an attempt to give “post-facto validity” to the recovery notices issued by adjudicating authorities to anti-CAA protesters.