Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 7 Sep: The Uttarakhand High Court today heard the petition concerning the Shuddhikaran (purification) ritual at Haldwani’s Ramleela Ground following Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally held on 8 August. The state government informed the bench that two FIRs had been registered, one in Haldwani and another as a zero FIR in Bengaluru based on a media report. The government assured that the Bengaluru FIR would be transferred to Haldwani for investigation. The government further stated that CCTV footage and electronic evidence would be preserved. On these assurances, the division bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Siddharth Sah disposed of the petition.
The petition had been filed by social activist Baijnath of Dehradun, who argued that the act of sprinkling Gangajal and chanting mantras after the rally risked creating social discord. He sought directions for preservation of all the electronic and documentary evidence and requested impartial legal action. He also pointed out that while an FIR had been registered against those who performed the ritual, no FIR was filed on the complaint of the Congress workers. The petition noted that information had been sought under the Right to Information Act to clarify the incident.
It may be recalled following Mallikarjun Kharge’s rally at Ramleela Ground in Haldwani on 8 August 2026, when members of Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas allegedly sprinkled Gangajal and performed a havan at the venue on 11 August. The organisers have however maintained that the ritual was intended to restore sanctity and cleanliness after a political event, and denied any caste‑related motive. The BJP also distanced itself from the incident, stating that the party had no role in the ritual. However, the Congress appears determined to make it a political issue and turn the whole incident into a caste driven exercise and has claimed that the purification ritual was an insult to the Dalits. Kharge himself raised it in the Rajya Sabha and demanded action, while Rahul Gandhi addressed a press conference in Delhi. In a political counter, two youths filed a case against Rahul Gandhi also under the SC/ST Act in Haldwani.
In reaction, a zero FIR was registered in Bengaluru where the Congress is in power on 4 September on the complaint of former Tribal Congress vice‑president TR Ramappa, naming BJP leaders and invoking provisions of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code. Sources claim that BJP State President Mahendra Bhatt has also been named in the FIR.
Though the High Court has now disposed of the petition, the case remains politically sensitive, with differing interpretations of the purification ritual and its intent continuing to be voiced by various parties.
