Throwing Non-Veg Food Remains In Ganga Can Hurt Hindu Sentiments: Allahabad High Court On Iftar Party Row

The Allahabad High Court has observed that throwing non-vegetarian food waste into the river Ganga could hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community while hearing a bail plea filed by Muslim men accused of hosting an Iftar party on a boat in Varanasi during Ramadan. The Allahabad High Court made the observation on May 15 while granting bail to five of the 14 accused men who were arrested after allegations that chicken biryani was consumed during the gathering and its remains were thrown into the river. The incident had triggered controversy after a complaint was filed by a local BJP youth leader accusing the group of hurting religious sentiments. The case later saw several serious charges added by police, including extortion and provisions under the Information Technology Act.

Court says actions alleged in the case could hurt sentiments but also notes genuine remorse shown by accused families

As per Bar and Bench, Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla of the Allahabad High Court said in the order that the allegations in the case involved members of the Muslim community organising a Roza Iftar gathering on a boat in the Ganga river and allegedly consuming non-vegetarian food before throwing leftovers into the river. “The present case involves members of the Muslim community having a Roza Iftar party, and during the said Iftar party, while partaking of food, non-vegetarian food is said to have been consumed by the members of the Muslim community, who are then alleged to have thrown the remains into the River Ganges. This fact in the dispassionate opinion of the Court could rightly be said to hurt religious sentiments of the Hindu community,” the Court said.

However, the Allahabad High Court also took note of the regret expressed by the accused and their families while considering the bail plea. The Court said the affidavits filed before it showed “genuine remorse” for the actions attributed to the accused.

“This Court further understands that while facing prosecution in a criminal case, specific acceptance of the crime cannot be made by a person swearing an affidavit on behalf of the person, who has been incarcerated and while considering grant of bail an admission to the crime alleged is not warranted. However, the affidavits that have been filed in support of the bail application before the Court as well as the submissions of the Learned counsel for the applicants show genuine remorse for the actions attributed to the applicants.”

Questions raised over boatman’s allegations as court notes delay in filing extortion complaint

Reports say that while hearing the matter, the Allahabad High Court also questioned the allegations made by the boat owner who later accused the men of forcibly taking over the boat. The Court said the delay in filing the complaint created doubt regarding the extortion claims made in the case.

“It would be sufficient to note here that before registration of the case, the said boatman had not come forward to lodge any report or make any complaint regarding the extortion meted out to him. In the prima facie opinion of the Court, the delay by boatman Anil Sahni in coming forward with the allegations of extortion creates a suspicion on his story,” the order stated, as per Bar and Bench. 

The Allahabad High Court further noted that none of the offences initially imposed against the accused carried punishment exceeding seven years. Taking into account that the accused had been in jail since March 17 and had expressed regret, the Court granted bail to five of the 14 men.

Separate bench grants bail to three more accused as FIR details serious charges under BNS and IT Act

On the same day, another bench of the Allahabad High Court led by Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha granted bail to three more accused through a separate order.

“The applicants have been languishing in jail since 17.03.2026 and they have undertaken to file affidavit before the learned Court concerned and the concerned police station that they will not indulge in / repeat similar activities in future,” Justice Sinha said, as per reports. 

Police registered an FIR after a complaint was filed for hurting religious sentiments

According to reports, the FIR in the case was registered based on a complaint filed by Rajat Jaiswal, who accused the men of hurting religious sentiments. Police initially booked the accused under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including defiling a place of worship, promoting enmity, public nuisance and fouling water sources, along with provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

Later, police added more serious charges, including Section 308(5) BNS related to extortion under threat of death or grievous hurt after the boat owners alleged that the boat was forcibly taken. Section 67 of the Information Technology Act was also added for allegedly publishing or transmitting objectionable electronic material.

Advocate Raghuvansh Misra appeared for the accused, while Additional Advocate General Anoop Trivedi, along with Advocates Shashank Tripathi and Nitesh Srivastava, represented the State.

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