Former BBC Journalist Huda Zariwala detained by UP Police
Huda Zariwala, Former BBC Journalist who also worked as News Anchor for Saudi TV Channel 2, has been detained by Uttar Pradesh Police.
Saharanpur: Huda Zariwala, Former BBC Journalist who also worked as News Anchor for Saudi TV Channel 2, has been detained by Uttar Pradesh Police.
Huda Zariwala was taken into custody by Uttar Pradesh Police after a complaint was filed against her in Saharanpur. The complainant alleged that Huda Zarwiala used “derogatory” language against the state Chief Minister Adityanath.
According to media reports, Huda Zariwala describes herself as a social activist, was in Saharanpur to protest the demolition of over a century-old mosque located in the Collectorate premises. Earlier, Huda Zariwala also had an altercation with the local police at Saharanpur Circuit House, local media reported.
Following this a purported video surfaced on social media wherein Huda Zariwala is seen making comments in protest against the demolition of Saharanpur Collectorate Masjid.
Huda Zariwala, who was recently also spotted at Saket Police Station, Delhi while protesting against alleged beating of two female Muslim journalists, has been booked under various sections involving “disruption of peace” and “spreading enmity between the two communities”.
The Saharanpur Collectorate Masjid was demolished by the local authorities three days ago around 4-5 am dawn. While the authorities alleged that the mosque was illegally built, local Muslims claim the mosque existed on the site since 1911 – years before the Collectorate came into existence.
Visuals shared online showed the bricks recovered after the demolition of Saharanpur Collectorate Masjid have ‘1909’ marks.
सहारनपुर। कलेक्ट्रेट परिसर स्थित मस्जिद के ध्वस्तीकरण को लेकर मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ पर कथित आपत्तिजनक टिप्पणी करने के मामले में यूट्यूबर और सामाजिक कार्यकर्ता हुदा जरीवाला को पुलिस ने गिरफ्तार कर लिया है। पुलिस के अनुसार, उनके खिलाफ शिकायत के आधार पर कार्रवाई की गई और… pic.twitter.com/TPXo5pvC5N
— Arun (आज़ाद) Chahal 🇮🇳 (@ArunAzadchahal) September 8, 2026
“Blow to the Principles of Justice”
The demolition of the century-old mosque in odd hours has sparked the nationwide outrage. Condemning the demolition of the mosque, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President described the administration’s action as a serious blow to the principles of justice and due process.
In a statement Jamiat President Maulana Mahmood Madani said the manner in which the demolition was carried out raised fundamental questions about the administration’s conduct.
Since the dispute concerned land within the Collectorate premises, he said, the administration and the magistrate had themselves become parties to the matter.
“It is a universally recognised principle of law that no party can be a judge in its own cause,” he said, adding that unilateral action in such circumstances amounted to a serious violation of the principles of justice.
Mahmood Madani further said that the lower court’s order of September 4, 2026 contained no explicit direction for the immediate demolition of the mosque.
“Yet, within just a few hours, the administration proceeded to demolish the mosque in the night, without allowing the affected party sufficient time to pursue legal remedies or even obtain a certified copy of the court order”, he said.
“A lower court’s decision not final”
He said a lower court’s decision cannot be treated as the final word when the law provides avenues of appeal before the higher judiciary.
“The Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to approach the higher courts for relief. When an action can cause irreversible damage, denying the affected party even a reasonable opportunity to seek judicial intervention is deeply troubling,” Madani said.
He questioned the extraordinary haste with which the demolition was carried out, saying it had effectively left the affected party with little or no opportunity to seek relief from the higher judiciary.
“When the consequences of an action are irreversible, the first responsibility of the authorities should be to ensure due process, not to rush through the demolition,” he said.
Madani urged the mosque committee and its legal advisers to approach the High Court without delay and seek appropriate judicial intervention. He said the action of the administration must be subjected to judicial scrutiny and that the rule of law must prevail over the arbitrary exercise of official authority.
In a broader appeal, Madani called upon all sections of the society committed to justice, constitutional values and communal harmony to speak out against what he described as a growing pattern of arbitrary action against mosques and other places of worship. He said such actions cannot be viewed in isolation and warned that allowing them to continue unchecked could deepen communal divisions and undermine the country’s shared social and constitutional values.
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