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.
The remarks had triggered a political storm, with BJP leaders accusing Gandhi of undermining India’s sovereignty and constitutional framework. Former BJP president J.P. Nadda had then said that Gandhi’s statement exposed Congress’ “ugly truth,” alleging that his words reflected an ideological battle against the nation itself.
Earlier, an FIR was also registered against Gandhi at Pan Bazar Police Station in Guwahati, Assam, under Sections 152 and 197(1)(d) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita based on a complaint alleging that his remarks incited disaffection against the State and threatened national unity.
Separately, the Allahabad High Court had recently dealt with another plea concerning Gandhi, in which Justice Subhash Vidyarthi recused himself from hearing a petition seeking registration of an FIR over allegations of dual citizenship after controversy surrounding social media posts by the petitioner.