“The Supreme Court today directed the release of prominent Muslim cleric and scholar Maulana Mufti Salman Azhari who was detained over alleged hate speech under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 (“PASA”). The bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B. Varale granted relief to Azhari while setting aside the Gujarat High Court’s order validating the detention order.

Azhari approached the Supreme Court following the dismissal of his plea challenging the detention before the Gujarat High Court. The High Court validated the detention authority’s order and opined that the public speeches delivered by Azhari and circulated on social media platforms were sufficient to promote enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion and were prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony and national integration.

The detention order was executed on February 22, 2024, and Azhari was detained in Vadodara Central Jail. Before the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Huzefa A. Ahmadi, representing the appellant, argued that the detention authority lacked sufficient material to form a subjective satisfaction that the alleged activities, as outlined in the criminal offenses, had caused a sense of insecurity, hatred, and enmity, thereby disrupting public peace, social harmony, and the maintenance of public order among the wider society……”