The Allahabad High Court has observed that throwing non-vegetarian food waste into the Ganga River could hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community while granting bail to five Muslim men accused in the Varanasi Iftar-on-boat case.
The observation was made by Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla on May 15 while hearing bail pleas of five out of the 14 Muslim men arrested for allegedly organising an Iftar gathering on a boat in the Ganga during Ramadan in March.
The accused were booked after allegations surfaced that they consumed non-vegetarian food, including chicken biryani, during the gathering and threw leftovers into the river, considered sacred by Hindus.
In its order, the court said, “The present case involves members of the Muslim community having a Roza Iftar party, and during the said Iftar party, while partaking of food, non-vegetarian food is said to have been consumed by the members of the Muslim community, who are then alleged to have thrown the remains into the River Ganges. This fact in the dispassionate opinion of the Court could rightly be said to hurt religious sentiments of the Hindu community.”
Court Notes Apology and Remorse by Accused
At the same time, the High Court took note of the apology expressed by the accused and their families and said their remorse weighed in favour of granting bail.
Justice Shukla observed, “The applicants are apologetic for their actions, and even their families also regret the pain that had been caused to the society at large.”
The court added that while considering bail, an accused cannot be expected to admit guilt, but the affidavits and arguments submitted before the court reflected “genuine remorse” over the incident.
The five accused granted bail are Mohammad Azad Ali, Mohammad Tahseem, Nihal Afridi, Mohammad Tauseef Ahmad and Mohammad Anas. They had been in judicial custody since March 17.
In a separate order on the same day, Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha also granted bail to three other accused — Mohammad Sameer, Mohammad Ahmad Raza and Mohammad Faizan.
Justice Sinha noted that the accused had undertaken not to repeat such actions in future. “The applicants have been languishing in jail since 17.03.2026 and they have undertaken to file affidavit before the learned Court concerned and the concerned police station that they will not indulge in/repeat similar activities in future,” the order said.
FIR Filed Over Iftar Gathering on Ganga Boat
The case was registered after a complaint by Rajat Jaiswal, president of the Varanasi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), who alleged that the gathering hurt Hindu religious sentiments.
According to the FIR, the accused held an Iftar party on a boat in the Ganga on March 15, consumed chicken biryani and allegedly threw food remains into the river.
Police initially booked the men under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including charges related to defiling a place of worship, outraging religious feelings, promoting enmity, public nuisance, and fouling a public water source.
Later, more serious charges, including extortion under threat, were added after a boat owner alleged that the accused had forcibly taken his boat.
However, the High Court raised doubts over the boat owner’s allegations. Justice Shukla noted that the boatman did not immediately file any complaint and said the delay created suspicion.
“It would be sufficient to note here that before registration of the case, the said boatman had not come forward to lodge any report or make any complaint regarding the extortion meted out to him. In the prima facie opinion of the Court, the delay by boatman Anil Sahni in coming forward with the allegations of extortion creates a suspicion on his story,” the court observed.
The matter remains under investigation.
