Allahabad HC Rejects Bail of IMC Chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan in Bareilly Riots Case
Justice Ashutosh Srivastava found the applicant's post-riot speech thanking the crowd and his pre-riot call to assemble without permission fatal to the bail plea.
The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on 7 September 2026 rejected the bail application of Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, the President of Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC), who has been in custody since 27 September 2025 in connection with the Bareilly riots of 26 September 2025. Justice Ashutosh Srivastava, sitting singly in Court No. 50, declined to release the applicant under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The court found that the applicant's act of calling a large public gathering without administrative permission, and his subsequent conduct of publicly thanking the crowd after the violence, weighed decisively against bail at this stage.
The Bareilly Riots and the FIR Against the Applicant
Case Crime No. 489 of 2025 was registered at Police Station Kotwali, District Bareilly, naming Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan along with 24 other identified persons and approximately 1,700 unknown persons. The charges span Sections 109(1), 109(2), 118(2), 121(1), 189(5), 191(2), 191(3), 195(1), 196(1), 196(2), 223, 310(2), 324(5), 324(6), 61(2) and 62 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, and Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
According to the FIR, the applicant in his capacity as IMC President convened a public meeting on 19 September 2025 at village Faridpur Chaudhary. At that meeting, slogans of “Gustakh-e-Nabi Ki Ek Hi Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda” were raised, and members of the Muslim community were urged to assemble at the grounds of Islamia Inter College, Bareilly, after the Friday Namaz on 26 September 2025, to protest against the State Government and submit a memorandum to the President of India through the District Magistrate.
The local administration, upon learning of the planned assembly, issued an order under Section 163 of the BNSS on 25 September 2025 prohibiting gatherings of five or more persons at public places in Bareilly. Despite this prohibition, around 200 to 250 persons marched towards Islamia Inter College on 26 September 2025. When the police attempted to stop the march, the crowd began pelting stones and petrol bombs, fired upon the police party with illegal firearms, assaulted personnel with sharp-edged weapons and broken bottles, and destroyed public property. Several police personnel were injured. Recoveries from the spot included two fired 12-bore cartridges, one live 315-bore cartridge, a country-made 12-bore pistol, illegal sharp knives, sticks, rods and glass bottles. An anti-riot gun, a handheld wireless set and a Cheetah Mobile vehicle were also snatched from police personnel.
The Applicant's Case for Bail
Senior Counsel Sri Satish Trivedi, assisted by Sri Seshadari Trivedi, and Senior Counsel Sri Imran Ullah, assisted by Sri Mohd. Imdad Siddiqui, appeared for the applicant. They argued that Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan is the founder and principal leader of IMC, a social organisation representing the educational, social and political concerns of minorities, and that his prominence made him a political target.
The defence contended that the applicant was not at the scene on 26 September 2025. It was submitted that he was placed under house arrest around 10:00 hours that morning. Counsel argued that it was IMC spokespersons — Liaqat Khan, Nadeem Khan and Nafeez Khan — who had originally called for the gathering at Islamia Inter College grounds, and that the IMC subsequently issued a withdrawal letter on 25 September 2025 claiming the earlier letter was fraudulent. The applicant, it was said, circulated a video on social media declaring the IMC letter of 25 September 2025 fraudulent and instead calling on people to gather at Naumahal. Counsel urged that the applicant had not organised the assembly with intent to incite violence, had not delivered any speech that could be construed as incitement, and bore no direct responsibility for the mob's conduct.
On the question of criminal antecedents, counsel acknowledged 12 prior cases but submitted they had been explained in the bail application; the applicant had been released on bail in 9 of them. He remained in custody in Case Crime No. 1146 of 2025, Case Crime No. 492 of 2025, and the present Case Crime No. 489 of 2025.
The State's Opposition
Sri Anoop Trivedi, Senior Counsel and Additional Advocate General, appeared for the State, assisted by Sri Nitesh Kumar Srivastava, Sri Paritosh Malviya and Sri Sanjay Kumar Singh.
The State described the applicant as the kingpin and mastermind of the Bareilly riots. The Additional Advocate General pointed out that the applicant was not found at his own home on 26 September 2025 but was arrested the following day, 27 September 2025, from the house of his close associate Farhat Ali, located approximately 8 kilometres from his own residence. It was from that location that the applicant broadcast his post-riot video. The State submitted that CD No. 76 dated 19 January 2026 recorded the applicant thanking community members through a video after the incident. A charge sheet was filed on 21 December 2025.
The State also placed 24 criminal antecedents before the court, a figure higher than the 12 acknowledged by the applicant. The Additional Advocate General argued that the slogan chanted by the mob was a direct incitement to violence and a challenge to the sovereignty and integrity of India, warranting outright rejection of the bail plea.
How the Court Reasoned
Justice Srivastava drew a clear distinction between the applicant's physical absence from the riot site and his role in events leading to it. The court accepted that the applicant was not physically present at the place of occurrence on 26 September 2025; the record showed he was at the residence of co-accused Farhat Ali at the relevant time.
However, the court found it established on the record that the applicant had called for a large public assembly at Islamia Inter College grounds after the Friday Namaz — a call made without seeking permission from the local administration. The court noted that although the applicant attempted to justify the call as having been cancelled after permission was denied and after Section 163 of the BNSS was invoked, the masses did march to the grounds and the violence occurred when police prevented them from proceeding.
The court found the applicant's post-incident conduct equally significant. The record showed that, from the house of co-accused Farhat Ali, the applicant delivered a speech thanking the masses for responding to his call in large numbers and applauding their acts. The court held that this conduct could not be approved.
On the slogan raised during the riot, the court agreed with the Additional Advocate General that “Gushtakh-e-Nabi Ke Ek Hi Saja, Sar Tan Se Juda” was not comparable to devotional slogans such as “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar”, “Jo Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal”, “Jai Shri Ram” or “Har Har Mahadev”, which the court characterised as expressions of reverence. The court held the impugned slogan was a challenge to the authority of law and to the sovereignty and integrity of India, and amounted to incitement to armed rebellion punishable under law.
The court also noted that while the charge sheet had been filed on 21 December 2025, charges against the applicant were yet to be framed before the trial court.
Outcome
Considering the nature and gravity of the allegations, the applicant's conduct before and after the incident of 26 September 2025, and the stage of the proceedings, Justice Srivastava held that the court was not inclined to release the applicant on bail at this stage. Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 2637 of 2026 was rejected. The applicant, who has been in judicial custody since 27 September 2025, continues to be held pending trial before the Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 5, Bareilly. The Trial Court had itself rejected his bail application by order dated 10 November 2025.