Bombay HC ruled that local police departments should not conduct mock drills that depict people from the Muslim community as terrorists

Case: Sayed Usama v. State of Maharashtra & Ors

The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has recently ruled that local police departments should not conduct mock drills that depict people from the Muslim community as terrorists. The court granted time for the public prosecutor to present the guidelines for mock drills and emphasized that such drills should not stereotype any particular community.

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has directed the police department not to hold mock drills that depict people from any specific community as terrorists until February 10th. The court is seeking clarification on the guidelines for such drills before making a final decision.

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by a social activist named Sayed Usama. The petition alleged that the police department's mock drills depicted terrorists as being Muslim, which showed bias and prejudices against the Muslim community and sent a message that terrorists belong to a particular religion. The petitioner claimed that this was harmful and wrong, and the court was considering the petition and the concerns raised in it.

The PIL was in response to three mock drills held in Ahmednagar, Chandrapur, and Aurangabad in Maharashtra where the police officers playing the role of terrorists were dressed as Muslim men. During the drills, these "dressed up" men were heard shouting slogans associated with Islam, such as "Nara-e-Takbeer" and "Allah-hu-Akbar." The petitioner claimed that these actions perpetuated harmful stereotypes and depicted terrorists as being exclusively Muslim, leading to prejudice and discrimination against the Muslim community.

The PIL claimed these mock drills depicted a strong bias against the Muslim community and violated their constitutional rights to dignity and non-discrimination based on religion. The petitioner argued that the actions depicted in the drills violated Article 21, which guarantees the right to dignity of a person, and Articles 14 and 15, which prohibit discrimination based on religion.