Karnataka HC Stays Govt Order Withdrawing Cases In Aland Riots, Priyank Kharge Says Will Bring It Back

Last Updated:July 02, 2026, 15:14 IST

Karnataka High Court stayed the order of the state government to withdraw 52 cases, in which seven are related to the Aland riots. Order will be brought back, Priyank Kharge said.

Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw 52 criminal cases, including the cases related to the Aland riots, was stayed by the Karnataka High Court on Thursday, ANI reported. The Karnataka government had taken a cabinet decision on May 21 this year to withdraw these cases.

The High Court issued this stay order in the matter brought to it by Girish Bharadwaj against the State of Karnataka.

There is a fault in Karnataka’s invocation of Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to make this withdrawal decision, the court held in its prima facie observation. This section of the CrPC deals with the power of a state government to withdraw cases, the pursuance of which does not serve public interest.

In an earlier order, the Karnataka High Court had stated that the state must undertake appropriate legal processes before issuing orders for the withdrawal of prosecution against any accused. Today, the court said that Karnataka state government has violated that order.

The state’s order to withdraw these cases against the accused has been put on hold until further notice. Today’s order by the Karnataka High Court is interim in nature.

The next date of hearing is yet to be decided.

“We have not done anything new. We have followed the process of law. If there is anything mentioned, we will make changes and bring it back in front of the cabinet," Priyank Kharge, a minister in the Karnataka government, and the son of the All-India Congress Committee President Mallikarjun Kharge, was quoted saying.

The Karnataka Home Minister also said that they need time to go through the interim order of the High Court since it has been released only ‘45 minutes ago’. “Let me get the true copy of what the High Court has said and then we will evaluate," he said, as quoted by IANS.

Of the 52 cases that the Karnataka government sought to withdraw, seven related to the Aland riots. Aland is a Taluk in the Kalaburagi district of the state. The Ladle Mashak Dargah is located here.

Members of several right-wing Hindutva groups allege that there is a ‘Shivling’, a symbol of lord Shiva, inside the Dargah. In March 2022, some BJP workers tried to purify the Shivling.

This had led to communal violence in the area in which several police personnel had been injured. A total of 13 cases had been filed, according to media reports, of which seven were withdrawn by the Karnataka government.

The other cases involve farmers and Kannada activists.

(With agency inputs)

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