Prayagraj , The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking the registration of an FIR against spiritual leader Rambhadracharya over his alleged objectionable remarks about the Upadhyay community and revered religious personalities, including the Shankaracharyas.
Court Ruling Emphasizes Exhaustion of Remedies Before Seeking High Court Intervention
In a recent ruling, a two-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, consisting of Justices Chandra Dhari Singh and Tarun Saxena, addressed the procedural requirements for filing a writ petition regarding the non-registration of a First Information Report (FIR). The court observed that individuals must first utilize the statutory remedies available under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita before invoking the high court’s extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.
This decision came on September 1, when the court dismissed a writ petition submitted by Ramesh Upadhyay from Varanasi. However, the court granted him the opportunity to seek an appropriate legal remedy, emphasizing the importance of following established legal processes before escalating matters to higher courts.
The petitioner alleged that Rambhadracharya also made objectionable statements against the four Shankaracharyas, hurting the religious sentiments of several followers. Videos of his statements were circulated on social media platforms, including YouTube, he claimed. However, no FIR had been registered till date. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The petitioner apprised the court that he had submitted a complaint to the Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, on October 8, 2025, seeking the registration of an FIR against the spiritual leader under appropriate penal provisions. The State opposed the petition contending that the petitioner had not approached the concerned police station and had directly approached the high court without first availing the remedy under Section 175 BNSS before the magistrate.
Certain statements made by Rambhadracharya, the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, caused “grave mental agony, humiliation and insult” to him and other members of the Upadhyay community, according to the petitioner. “This Court is of the considered view that if a person has a grievance that his FIR has not been registered by the police, or that having been registered, a proper investigation is not being done, then the remedy of the aggrieved person is not to approach the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution, but to approach the Magistrate concerned under Section 175 BNSS,” the court said.
