Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea Seeking FIR Against Rambhadracharya
· India · Hindustan Times, Indian Express
The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking the registration of an FIR against spiritual leader Rambhadracharya over his alleged remarks about the Upadhyay community and the Shankaracharyas. A two-judge bench comprising Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Tarun Saxena ruled that an aggrieved person must ordinarily exhaust statutory remedies under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita before invoking the high court's extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226. The petition was filed by Ramesh Upadhyay of Varanasi, who alleged that the spiritual leader's statements caused grave mental agony and hurt religious sentiments. The petitioner informed the court that he had submitted a complaint to the Commissioner of Police in Varanasi on October 8, 2025, without receiving an FIR. The state opposed the petition on the grounds that the petitioner had approached the high court directly without first seeking a remedy before the magistrate under Section 175 of the BNSS.
Why it matters
The ruling reinforces the principle that individuals must utilize lower statutory legal channels, such as approaching a magistrate, before directly petitioning high courts for police investigations.
Read the original report — Hindustan Times
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