Madurai Bench Quashes FIR Against Law Student Who Peacefully Protested Sanatana Dharma Conference

The Madurai Bench held that a student association's peaceful protest outside a conference hall did not constitute an offence, quashing the FIR against all eight accused.

Justice R. Vijayakumar, sitting singly at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on 7 August 2026 quashed an FIR registered against M. Senthoorvelan, a law student, and seven others who had protested outside a conference hall where a meeting for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma was being held. The court found that their agitation was peaceful and democratic, caused no damage to public property, and that continuing the criminal proceedings would be an abuse of process of law. The FIR in Crime No. 1046 of 2023, registered on 14 September 2023 at Thallakulam Police Station, Madurai City, alleged offences under Sections 143, 341, and 290 of the IPC. The relief was extended not just to the petitioner but to all accused persons in the case.

The FIR and the Charges

Senthoorvelan was arrayed as Accused No. 5 in Crime No. 1046 of 2023 on the file of the Inspector of Police, Thallakulam Police Station, Madurai City. The FIR, dated 14 September 2023, alleged that he along with seven others belonging to a Student Association protested against a conference being conducted for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma.

According to the FIR, despite warnings from police officials, the accused blocked the road and caused inconvenience to the general public. On that basis, they were charged under Section 143 (unlawful assembly), Section 341 (wrongful restraint), and Section 290 (public nuisance) of the IPC.

Senthoorvelan filed a Criminal Original Petition under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking to quash the FIR in so far as it concerned him, and to declare the same illegal.

What the Petitioner Argued

Counsel for the petitioner, Mr. PR. Malan, submitted that Senthoorvelan, being a student of law, had raised objections to the holding of such a meeting and that the protest was conducted peacefully in front of the Conference Hall. He argued that peaceful protest of this nature could not be treated as a criminal offence.

He also pointed out a significant procedural fact: though more than three years had elapsed since the FIR was registered, no charge sheet had been filed against the accused.

The Government Advocate (Criminal Side), Mr. G. Ganesh Kumar, appearing for the first respondent police, acknowledged that while a charge sheet had been prepared, it had not yet been filed in court.

How the Court Reasoned

Justice Vijayakumar examined the materials on record and returned to the facts as disclosed in the FIR itself. The court noted that the petitioner and others belonging to a Student Association had conducted a protest in front of a Conference Hall where a meeting was being held for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma.

The court found that the agitation was carried out in a peaceful and democratic manner and that there was no allegation of any damage to public property. These two findings together formed the basis for the court's conclusion that the ingredients of the alleged offences were not made out from the FIR itself.

Against this backdrop, the court held that continuation of the criminal proceedings would only be an abuse of process of law. The court also took note of the fact that all other accused persons stood on the same footing as the petitioner, and that restricting the quashing order to the petitioner alone would be unjust.

Extension of Relief to All Accused

This aspect of the order carries procedural significance. While the petition was filed only by Senthoorvelan, the court exercised its power to quash the FIR against all eight accused persons, not merely the petitioner. The court recorded that the other accused persons “also stand on the same footing of the petitioner.”

The FIR in Crime No. 1046 of 2023 on the file of the Inspector of Police, Thallakulam Police Station, was accordingly quashed in its entirety against all accused.

Outcome

The Criminal Original Petition was allowed. Crime No. 1046 of 2023, dated 14 September 2023, on the file of the Inspector of Police, Thallakulam Police Station, Madurai City, stands quashed against the petitioner M. Senthoorvelan as well as all other accused persons in the case. The order was directed to the Inspector of Police, Thallakulam Police Station, and to the Additional Public Prosecutor, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court.