Tehseen Poonawalla (born May 1981) is an Indian activist and columnist.[1]
Personal life
editTehseen Poonawalla was born in Pune, Maharashtra in May 1981.[1] He is married to Monicka Vadera and they have a son named Zurvan.[2] He is the older brother of Shehzad Poonawalla.[1]
Political activism
editIn July 2012, Tehseen Poonawalla filed a complaint with the National Commission for Women (NCW) against Mumbai Assistant Commissioner of Police Vasant Dhoble for the wrongful detention of 4 women.[3] At the time, Dhoble was on a moral crusade against the Mumbai night life.[4] On 30 March 2012, Dhoble had allegedly detained 4 German women and accused them of being prostitutes.[5][6] Later, the NCW ordered a probe into the incident.[4]
On 12 August 2016, Tehseen Poonawalla filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India seeking a ban on cow vigilante groups.[7]
On 17 July 2017, Tehseen Poonawalla, alongwith Prakash Ambedkar, Shehla Rashid, and Shehzad Poonawalla released a draft law named Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA). The bill aims to rectify that fact that India does not have a specific law against mob lynchings. The bill has been prepared by the National Campaign Against Mob Lynching (NCAML).[8]
In early 2018, Tehseen Poonawalla and journalist B. S. Lone filed petitions with the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe into the sudden death of Justice Brijgopal Harkishan Loya. On 19 April 2018, the Supreme dismissed the petitions after deciding the such a probe to be unnecessary.[9][10]
On 18 April 2019, Tehseen Poonawalla filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India seeking to debar Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting in the 2019 Indian general election. She was under trial in the 2008 Malegaon bombings as principal conspirator.[11]
In August 2019, Poonawalla approached the Supreme Court seeking the release of Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah who had been arrested after the abrogation of Article 370. He also challenged the lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir under Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution.[12][13]
In 2018, Supreme Court ordered states to take measures to curb incidents of mob lynching.
Controversies
editIn August 2016, a FIR was filed against Tehsheen Poonawalla and singer Vishal Dadlani for allegedly mocking Jain monk Tarun Sagar. Tarun Sagar had addressed the Haryana Legislative Assembly on 29 August 2016 in a state of nudity, as it is traditional among Digambar monks. The FIR was filed by Haryana BJP co-convener Puneet Arora in Ambala under Section 153A, 295A and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.[14][15]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Who is Tehseen Poonawalla, Bigg Boss 13's highest-paid contestant?". India Today. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Bigg Boss fame Tehseen Poonawalla and wife Monicka Vadera welcome a baby boy". The Times of India. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "Youth activist petitions NCW against Dhoble". Mid-Day. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Mumbai partygoers fear police chief on moral crusade". The Guardian. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
The commission took action after being petitioned by Tehseen Poonawalla, a young entrepreneur who accuses Dhoble of "Talibanising" the city, following the raid at Mumbai's Voodoo bar in which four German women were filmed crying and telling police they were not sex workers but had simply read about the bar in their guidebook.
- ^ "'Dhoble wrongly accused German women': Tehseen Poonawalla". Hindustan Times. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
Acting on a tip-off, police detained four German women for their alleged involvement in flesh trade during a raid in Mumbai today.
- ^ "Dhoble wrongly detained German women from pub". The Indian Express. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Social Activist Tehseen Poonawalla Moves Supreme Court For Ban On Gau Rakshak Dals". NDTV. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Civil society moots law to stop mob lynching: MASUKA". India Today. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "SC to hear tomorrow pleas seeking probe into judge Loya's death". The Times of India. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Loya probe an attack on judiciary: Supreme Court Nation". Deccan Herald. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Tehseen Poonawalla moves EC against Sadhvi Pragya, says BJP fielding terror accused in polls". 18 April 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "J&K Lockdown, Ex-Chief Ministers' Arrests Challenged In Supreme Court". NDTV. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Supreme Court to hear multiple pleas on Article 370 today". India Today. 28 August 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "FIR registered against Dadlani, Poonawalla in Ambala for hurting Jains' sentiments". India Today. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "No pardon for mocking Jain guru, over 30 complaints filed against Dadlani, Congress leader". India Today. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2024.