‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ Not Equal to ‘Jai Shri Ram’: Allahabad HC Denies Bail to Tauqeer Raza
NEW DELHI: The Allahabad High Court has refused bail to Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan in the September 26, 2025 Bareilly violence case, holding that a slogan calling for beheading challenges the rule of law and Bharat’s sovereignty and integrity. Justice Ashutosh Srivastava passed the order on September 7, 2026.
Raza is a Bareilly-based Muslim cleric, a prominent figure in the Barelvi Sunni community and a descendant of Ahmed Raza Khan, known as Ala Hazrat, who founded the Barelvi movement. In 2001, Raza established the Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC), a political outfit with influence in Bareilly.
The mobilisation backed the “I Love Muhammad” campaign, which spread following a dispute over religious displays and police action in Kanpur. In Bareilly, organisers sought to protest alleged government excesses and cases against Muslims. They proposed submitting a memorandum to the President through the District Magistrate.
According to the prosecution, Raza called at a meeting on September 19, 2025, for Muslims to assemble at the Islamia Inter College grounds after Friday prayers. On September 25, the administration prohibited public gatherings of five or more under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (formerly known as Section 144 under the Code of Criminal Procedure)
Nevertheless, approximately 200–250 people marched towards the grounds on September 26. The prosecution alleged that, when police intervened, the crowd raised “Gustakh-e-Nabi Ki Ek Hi Saza, Sar Tan Se Juda”, calling for beheading anyone accused of insulting the Prophet. Members allegedly hurled stones and petrol bombs and fired at police, injuring personnel and damaging public property.
The State accused Raza of masterminding the unrest. It also alleged that police equipment, including an anti-riot gun and a wireless set, was snatched.
Raza’s lawyers denied that he instigated violence and alleged political targeting. They argued that the gathering had been cancelled after permission was refused and that he was under house arrest when the violence occurred. The State disputed the house-arrest claim.
The Court acknowledged that Raza was absent from the scene and was confined at co-accused Farhat Ali’s house. However, it noted his call for an assembly without administrative permission and his subsequent speech thanking those who responded and applauding their conduct. It disapproved of both the attacks on police performing their duties and his subsequent praise.
The Court distinguished the beheading slogan from “Jai Shri Ram”, “Har Har Mahadev”, “Nara-e-Takbeer, Allahu-Akbar” and “Jo Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal”. Those invocations express reverence for God or a Guru, it explained. The beheading slogan, it held, challenges India’s sovereignty and legal authority and incites armed rebellion.
The proceedings concern Case Crime No. 489 of 2025 at Kotwali police station, Bareilly. The allegations include attempted murder, rioting, promoting enmity, criminal conspiracy and damage to public property. Raza has been in custody since September 27, 2025. A chargesheet was filed on December 21, 2025; charges were yet to be framed.
Rejecting Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 2637 of 2026, the Court declined release at this stage. The ruling concerns bail; the criminal charges remain to be tried.
