The Uttar Pradesh government moved the Supreme Court on Wednesday challenging an Allahabad High Court order directing the state administration to remove from public places the pictures of those accused of vandalism during anti-CAA protests.

The appeal is scheduled to be heard on Thursday by a vacation bench of Justices U.U. Lalit and Aniruddha Bose, Uttar Pradesh advocate-general Raghavendra Singh said.

Singh refused to divulge the grounds of the appeal against the March 9 order of the high court that had also asked the Uttar Pradesh government not to put up such posters “without having the authority of law”.

The high court had ordered immediate removal of the roadside posters in Lucknow with the names and photos of the accused, observing that the police action was an “unwarranted interference” in the privacy of people. The posters had also mentioned the fine amounts that the accused persons were liable to pay, failing which their properties would be attached.

The high court had directed the district magistrate and the Lucknow police commissioner to submit a compliance report on or before March 16.

The posters were displayed to “name and shame” the accused who had allegedly caused damage to public and private property during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act on December 19 in the state capital.

Activist-politician Sadaf Jafar and former IPS officer S.R. Darapuri were among those whose names and photos had been put up at major road crossings in Lucknow, along with their address and other details. Some had viewed the poster move as an open invitation to activists to murder anti-government protesters.

In its order, the high court had observed that the action of the authorities was a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution under which no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

“In entirety, we are having no doubt that the action of the state which is a subject matter of this public interest litigation is nothing but an unwarranted interference in the privacy of people,” the court had said.

“Accordingly, the district magistrate and the commissioner of police, Lucknow, are directed to remove the banners from the roadside forthwith. The state of Uttar Pradesh is directed not to place such banners on roadside containing personal data of individuals without having authority of law,” the high court had said.

The posters bearing the photographs, names and addresses of those accused of vandalism had come up late on March 5 night.

In Lucknow, around 50 people were identified by the police as alleged rioters and were served notices.

During the hearing on Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the high court that it was a “deterrent” action and the court should not interfere in such a matter. The government had also told the high court that the court should not take cognisance of the act as the accused had damaged public and private property.