Allahabad High Court Grants Interim Protection in Mosque Bottle Incident Case

The Allahabad High Court has granted interim protection from arrest to a man accused of throwing a liquor bottle into a mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh district, observing that, at the prima facie stage, he appeared to have been intoxicated and may not have intended to hurt religious sentiments.

A Division Bench comprising Justice J.J. Munir and Justice Achal Sachdev passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by Vikrant Singh, who challenged the FIR registered against him under Section 298 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The provision penalises acts of damaging or defiling places of worship with the intention of insulting the religion of any class of persons.

According to the allegations, Singh was consuming liquor and threw the bottle into a mosque, where it shattered and allegedly hurt the religious feelings of members of another community. The Court observed that the petitioner was, prima facie, in an inebriated condition and "could not have intended to hurt religious feelings."

Without expressing any final opinion on the merits of the case, the Court admitted the writ petition, issued notices to the respondents, and directed them to file their counter affidavits within two weeks.

Pending further consideration, the Bench ordered that Singh shall not be arrested in connection with the case. The Registrar (Compliance) was directed to communicate the order to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Azamgarh, and the Station House Officer concerned within 24 hours. The matter will next be heard on July 14, 2026.