‘Sar tan se juda’ slogan incites people, challenges authority of law: Allahabad HC; bail denied to Tauqeer Raza

Millat Times Desk

08 September 2026 (Publish: 06:09 PM IST)

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The Allahabad High Court has denied bail to Islamic cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza in a case related to violence during a protest in Bareilly in September 2025.

The protest had been called over allegations of atrocities against Muslims and the filing of what organisers described as false cases against members of the community by the Uttar Pradesh government.

While rejecting Raza’s bail plea, the court said the protest had been organised without permission from the authorities. The bench also noted that Raza had initially said he cancelled the proposed gathering at a college ground after permission was denied, but protesters still marched towards the venue.

According to the court, police personnel deployed to maintain law and order were allegedly manhandled by the protesters. The crowd was also accused of rioting and damaging public property, resulting in injuries to police personnel.

The court noted that Raza was not present at the site when the violence took place and was at the residence of a co-accused. However, it said his later speech thanking the protesters and praising their actions could not be condoned.

The court also agreed with the state government’s contention that the slogan “Gustakh-e-Nabi ki ek saza, sar tan se juda” was a challenge to the authority of law as well as India’s sovereignty and integrity.

The slogan, which calls for beheading as punishment for insulting the Prophet, could incite people to armed rebellion and attract criminal liability, the court said.

The bench also said the slogan could not be equated with religious chants such as “Nara-e-Takbir, Allahu Akbar”, “Jo bole so nihal, Sat Sri Akal”, “Jai Shri Ram” and “Har Har Mahadev”, which it described as expressions of reverence for a deity or religious figure.

The High Court had made similar observations in December while rejecting the bail plea of another accused in the case. It had then linked the slogan to Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with acts endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.

Following the violence, police registered FIRs against 25 named accused and around 1,700 unidentified people, according to media reports.