PRAYAGRAJ, Nov 5 — The Allahabad High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking registration of an FIR against Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his remarks concerning the Sikh community during his September 2024 visit to the United States. A single bench of Justice Vikram D Chauhan pronounced the verdict in the petition filed by Nageshwar Mishra and another under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The court had reserved its judgment on October 16 after concluding the hearing. A detailed order is awaited.
Source: LiveLaw
The petition challenged an October 2025 order of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, MP/MLA Court, Varanasi, which had rejected the applicants' application under Section 173(4) BNSS seeking an FIR. The magistrate had observed that the applicants had merely expressed an 'apprehension' that Khalistani terrorists might use Gandhi's speech to spread violence and propaganda, but had not provided any concrete evidence of an incident or event substantiating that apprehension, LiveLaw reported.
Source: LiveLaw
What Gandhi said — and what the applicants alleged
During his US visit on September 9-10, 2024, Gandhi had said the fight in India was about whether a Sikh would be allowed to wear a turban or a 'kada' and to go to a gurdwara, and that this concern was not limited to the Sikh community but extended to all religions. He described India as a 'Union' of diverse histories, traditions and languages and alleged that the BJP and RSS regarded some states, languages, religions and communities as inferior — allegations the BJP has long rejected.
Source: ANI via DevDiscourse
The applicants alleged that Gandhi's statements were intended to incite people to fight for his political interests. They pointed to an endorsement of the statement by Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, which, they claimed, made 'the work of Khalistani terrorists easier', and claimed the remarks could provoke violence in India and aid anti-India propaganda worldwide. The plea also compared the alleged impact of the comments to Gandhi's December 2019 'Bharat Bachao Rally' speeches in Delhi, claiming those led to the Shaheen Bagh protests and subsequent riots, and relied on a statement attributed to Congress leader Salman Khurshid. These are the applicants' allegations as recorded in the reports; the magistrate found no concrete evidence behind the apprehension, and no FIR has been ordered.
Source: LiveLaw
A two-year legal road to Thursday's verdict
The complaint was first dismissed by the Varanasi trial court on November 28, 2024, with the ACJM-II observing that the remarks were made in the United States and fell outside the court's territorial jurisdiction. On revision, the MP/MLA court admitted the matter on July 21, 2025, and the revisional court directed the magistrate to reconsider, clarifying that prior sanction from the Central Government was not required for an investigation into speeches made outside India. In a separate proceeding, the Allahabad High Court in September 2025 rejected Gandhi's own petition challenging that direction for reconsideration.
Source: ANI via DevDiscourse
After reconsideration, the Varanasi magistrate — ACJM Neeraj Tripathi, according to ANI — again dismissed the application, observing that the date and time of the alleged incident had not been specified. Advocate Satyendra Kumar Tripathi represented the petitioners before the High Court, while Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal appeared for the Uttar Pradesh government. Gandhi, in a written reply filed before the MP/MLA court on August 25, had called the revision petition politically motivated, described himself as a 'true patriot' and said he held deep respect for all religions and communities, including the Sikh community, maintaining that his remarks were intended to highlight the interests and contributions of Sikhs.
Source: ANI via DevDiscourse
What is solid
- Justice Vikram D Chauhan of the Allahabad High Court dismissed Nageshwar Mishra's Section 528 BNSS petition on November 5, upholding the Varanasi court's refusal to order an FIR; judgment had been reserved on October 16 and a detailed order is awaited (LiveLaw; ANI via DevDiscourse)
- The Varanasi magistrate's October 2025 rejection rested on the finding that the applicants showed only an apprehension about misuse of the speech, with no concrete evidence of an incident (LiveLaw)
What is only claimed
- The applicants' claims — that Gandhi's remarks were meant to incite, that a Pannun endorsement made terrorists' work 'easier', and that the comments could provoke violence — are allegations made by the petitioners; they were not accepted as a basis for an FIR by either the Varanasi court or, in Thursday's dismissal, the High Court
- Gandhi's position, in his written reply, is that the petition was politically motivated and his remarks highlighted Sikh interests and contributions; the BJP/RSS characterisation in his 2024 speech remains politically contested
For Punjab and the wider Sikh community, the case has been closely watched since 2024 because the speech at its centre was specifically about Sikh religious freedom — the right to wear a turban and kada and to visit a gurdwara. Thursday's dismissal closes the Varanasi FIR route unless the applicants challenge the order further; the detailed High Court order, when released, will set out the court's reasoning in full.
Source: LiveLaw
The detailed order of Justice Chauhan's bench is awaited and will carry the court's full reasoning. The applicants may challenge the dismissal before the Supreme Court. Until then, no FIR stands ordered against Gandhi over the 2024 remarks.