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Allahabad High Court Upholds Rahul Gandhi’s Right to Freedom of Speech Under Article 19, Rejecting a Plea Seeking an FIR Over His 2024 US Remarks on Sikh Community Rights.
The Allahabad High Court provided relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, refusing to overturn a Varanasi court order rejecting an application for an FIR against him over his alleged remarks on Sikhs during his US visit in 2024.
As reported by PTI, Dismissing the petition filed by Nageshwar Mishra and another, Justice Vikram D Chauhan observed, “The second respondent Rahul Gandhi being an elected representative has a right to raise concerns in respect of section of society. Further, questioning the rights of minorities by elected representative by itself cannot be an offence and the said speech of Rahul Gandhi will have protection of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19 of Constitution.”
The court also observed that an elected representative raising concerns on foreign soil may for some individuals be a question of impropriety or deviation from long standing tradition of parliamentary democracy, but that by itself does not make the speech an offence.
The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Varanasi on October 17, 2025 rejected the application of petitioner Nageshwar Mishra to register a case against Gandhi for his alleged statement.
Newspaper reports quoted Gandhi as saying that Sikhs are not feeling safe in India.
Mishra filed a revision petition before the sessions court which also dismissed it on July 9.
These two orders were challenged before the high court under section 528 of BNSS.
