HC dismisses AAP MLA’s plea against ‘bad character’ tag

A proposal for declaring Khan, the Okhla legislator, as a “bad character” was sent on March 28, 2022 by the Jamia Nagar police station. It was approved in March, 2022

The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed a petition by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Amanatullah Khan, challenging the tag of “bad character” given to him by the Delhi Police.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s lawyer has contended that the authorities “acted in absolutely malafide manner”. (HT photo)

Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain, while pronouncing the verdict, said the concerned deputy commissioner of police has given reasons in support of the action against the MLA as per law. The judge, however, granted Khan the liberty to approach the Delhi Police with a representation.

According to the police, a person who has involvement in several cases, including that of murder and attempts to murder, and can disturb peace in an area, is declared a “bad character”.

A proposal for declaring Khan, the Okhla legislator, as a “bad character” was sent on March 28, 2022 by the Jamia Nagar police station, noting that 18 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered against him. The proposal was approved on March 30, 2022

Khan’s lawyer has contended that the authorities “acted in absolutely malafide manner” and claimed the replica of the history sheet, which is a confidential document, was shared on social media by a spokesperson for a rival political party to “malign” his image.

The Delhi Police, meanwhile, argued that due procedure was followed by the competent authorities to arrive at the decision. They contended “sufficient material” was not placed before the court to prove malafide on their part.