Allahabad HC dismisses plea seeking FIR against Rahul Gandhi over ‘fighting Indian state’ remark

NEW DELHI: The Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging a Sambhal court order that had refused to direct registration of an FIR against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his controversial “fighting the Indian state” remarks.

A single-judge bench of Justice Vikram D. Chauhan rejected the plea filed by Simran Gupta of the Hindu Shakti Dal, who argued that Gandhi’s statement had hurt public sentiments nationwide and amounted to a “seditious and anti-national” assertion.

The controversy relates to remarks allegedly made by Gandhi during the inauguration of the All India Congress Committee’s new headquarters in New Delhi in January last year, where he said: “We are now fighting the BJP, the RSS, and the Indian State itself.”

Gupta contended that Gandhi’s remarks were not merely political criticism but a deliberate attempt to destabilise the country by portraying the Indian state as an adversarial force.

The matter reached the Allahabad High Court after a local court in Sambhal dismissed the petitioner’s application seeking registration of an FIR against the Congress leader.

A revision plea filed thereafter was also dismissed, following which the petitioner moved the Allahabad High Court.

Gandhi had made the remarks while attacking the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), alleging that they had captured institutions of the country and that the Congress was fighting to defend the Constitution and the idea of India. “Do not think we are fighting a fair fight. If you believe this is merely against a political organisation like the BJP or RSS, understand that they have captured almost every institution in our country. We are now up against the Indian state itself,” Gandhi had said.