Prayagraj (UP), March 12 The Allahabad High Court has refused to quash a series of FIRs in the September 2025 Bareilly violence case, stating that it does not find this to be a suitable case.
The court also vacated the interim stay order of November 24, 2025, which had stayed the arrest of some of the accused in the clashes that erupted between the police and a large crowd that had gathered outside a mosque after Friday prayers on September 26.
The bench comprising justices J J Munir and Vinai Kumar Dwivedi dismissed the series of petitions filed on March 9 by Ashu and several others.
The petitioners argued that an FIR in the same incident had been filed by a sub-inspector, and subsequently, the present FIR was filed. As the present FIR was the second FIR related to the same incident, it was liable to be quashed.
The court said, "Although the said FIR is related to the same incident, it does not report the general nature of the incident and all that the unlawful assembly did. It only reports one aspect of it, where the unlawful assembly threw stones, and the informant, who was on duty, snatched a policeman's baton and attempted to tear his uniform. This is a very small part of the incident, which the impugned (present) FIR reports in detail."
"Therefore, based on the FIR, which gives rise to Crime No. 1145 of 2025, it cannot be said that the impugned FIR is a second FIR related to the same incident," the bench added.
The court, while dismissing the petitions, said, "In the totality of circumstances, we do not find this to be a suitable case, where we can quash the impugned FIR at the instance of any of the petitioners, who have filed the present writ petition and the connected writ petitions."
"The petitioner, who was an accused in the violence case and was named in the FIR, sought the quashing of the FIR in the Bareilly violence case."
During the September 26 violence, supporters of Maulana Tauqeer Raza raised provocative slogans and hurled petrol bombs and stones at officers after permission for their protest was denied.
The Bareilly administration had imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, citing the ongoing Navratri and Urs festivities.
Raza allegedly released a video challenging the government's restrictions, warning of "dire consequences" if the protest was blocked.
When the police intervened, violence spread rapidly from Khalil Tiraha to Naumahalla Mosque, Kotwali, SP City Office, Novelty Chauraha, Azamnagar, and Shyamganj areas.
