Chhattisgarh HC refuses to quash FIR against professors accused of forcing Hindu students to offer Namaz

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed petitions filed by Assistant Professors from Guru Ghasidas (Central) University, seeking to quash an FIR registered against them for allegedly compelling Hindu students to offer Namaz.

The division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey observed that it would be premature to interfere with the investigation at this stage. The petitioners, including Dilip Jha, Coordinator of a National Service Scheme (NSS) camp, and six others including Madhulika Singh, Suryabhan Singh, Dr. Jyoti Verma, Prashant Vaishnav, Basant Kumar, Dr. Niraj Kumar, had moved the High Court to quash FIR No.

417 of 2025, registered at Kota police station, Bilaspur. The FIR invokes Sections 190, 196(1)(b), 197(1)(b), 197(1)(c), 299, and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968. The case stems from a complaint lodged by three students, Astik Sahu, Adarsh Kumar Chaturvedi, and Naveen Kumar, who participated in an NSS camp organised by the university at Shivtarai, Kota, from March 26 to April 1, 2025.

The complainants, all Hindu, alleged that the professors compelled them to offer Namaz. Counsel for the petitioners, Awadh Tripathi, argued that the complaint, lodged on April 14, 2025, was delayed by 14-15 days and was politically motivated. He stated that while 150 Hindu students attended the camp, only three lodged the FIR. He also submitted that four Muslim students at the camp offered Namaz, but no compulsion was exerted on Hindu participants.

Mr. Tripathi informed the court that the petitioners have already been granted bail by the trial court.

He further contended that the essential ingredients of the sections invoked in the FIR were not made out against the petitioners. Arvind Dubey, government counsel for the State, opposed the petitions, asserting that there are serious allegations against the professors. He argued that the petitioners used words and visible representations to compel Hindu complainants to offer Namaz.

The counsel also stated that the investigation is ongoing, and witnesses have supported the allegations, requesting the court to dismiss the petitions. After hearing both parties and reviewing the available records, the High Court referred to the Supreme Court's ruling in Neeharika Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. Vs. State of Maharashtra and others (2021), which states that courts should not thwart investigations into cognizable offences at an initial stage.

The Supreme Court judgment also highlights that quashing an FIR should be an exception rather than a rule and that police must be allowed to complete their investigation. Considering that the petitioners are on bail and the investigation is still underway, the High Court concluded that it would not be appropriate to make any observations on the merits of the case. Consequently, both petitions were dismissed.