Throwing non-veg food waste in Ganga could hurt religious sentiments: Allahabad HC on iftar party

Allahabad High Court. File Image | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Allahabad High Court observed that throwing non-vegetarian food waste into the Ganga River could hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.

Granting bail to five people accused of throwing remains into the river during an iftar party on a boat in Varanasi, Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla said: “The complainants apologize for their actions and even their families regret the pain caused to the entire society.”

The court said, “Taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case, the lack of criminal antecedents of the applicants, the duration of custody and also the apology expressed as stated above, a prima facie case is made out for bail.”

In an order issued on May 15, Justice Shukla granted bail to the accused, complainants — Mohammad Azad Ali, Mohammad Tahseem, Nihal Afridi, Mohammad Tauseef Ahmad and Mohammad Anas.

According to the order, this case involves members of the Muslim community having an iftar party.

“During the said Iftar party, while eating, non-vegetarian food was allegedly consumed by members of the Muslim community who then allegedly threw the remains into the river Ganga. This fact in the unbiased opinion of the court could rightly be said to hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community,” the court said.

The applicants, who have been in jail since March 17, 2026, have expressed their remorse and also pledged not to repeat any such act in the future.

In the same case, Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha on May 15 granted bail to three accused, namely Mohammad Sameer, Mohammad Ahmad Raza and Mohammad Faizan.

The FIR was filed on March 16 on a complaint filed by Rajat Jaiswal, president of the Varanasi branch of the BJP Yuva Morcha, alleging that the incident had hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

According to the complaint, the accused broke their Ramzan fast on a boat in the Ganga on March 15, ate the meat and threw the leftovers into the holy river.

They were booked under various provisions of the Act, including sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on defiling a place of worship, outraging religious sentiments, etc.

On April 1, a sessions court in Varanasi denied bail to the accused, saying it appeared that they intended to disrupt social harmony.

Published – 17 May 2026 22:48 IST