Zero FIR Against Uttarakhand BJP Leaders Over 'Purification' After Kharge Rally

Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha Police have registered a zero FIR against Uttarakhand BJP members and others in connection with an alleged 'purification ritual' held at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there earlier this month.

The FIR was registered on August 31 based on a complaint filed by T R Ramappa, former vice-chairman of the Scheduled Tribes Department of the Indian National Congress. According to the complaint, Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, spoke at a public rally at the venue in Haldwani, Nainital district, on August 8. The complainant described the gathering as a peaceful and lawful democratic assembly.

It has been alleged that on August 10, members and functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party conducted a 'Shuddhikaran' or purification ritual at the same grounds. The complainant alleged that the act was intended to suggest that Kharge's presence, as a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste community, had rendered the venue 'impure'. The complaint termed the exercise an insult and an offence under laws dealing with untouchability.

The complaint also named Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt, accusing him of defending and justifying the ritual after it drew criticism from various quarters.

Police have registered the case under Sections 7(1)(c), 7(1)(d) and 7(1)(e) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, Section 3(1)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and Section 196(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deals with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc.

Because the case has been registered as a zero FIR, it can be filed at any police station regardless of jurisdiction. The Vidhana Soudha Police have stated that the FIR will be transferred to the jurisdictional police station in Haldwani for further investigation. The Bengaluru Police will not probe the matter, an officer said, adding that similar FIRs have been registered in at least eight locations across the country in relation to the incident.

The development has deepened the political confrontation between the Congress and the BJP. Kharge first raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha on August 13 and later wrote to Leader of the House J P Nadda, questioning the delay in registering a case. In his letter, Kharge said the purification at the venue where he had addressed a rally was against the spirit of the Constitution and human values, and linked the practice to untouchability. He also drew a parallel with Dr B R Ambedkar's Mahad Satyagraha of 1927, which was launched to secure the right of Dalits to access water from the public Chawdar Tank in Mahad, Maharashtra.

Separately, the Haldwani Police had earlier registered an FIR against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. That case arose from a complaint alleging that Gandhi gave a casteist interpretation to what the organisers of the ritual described as a routine religious ceremony. The Congress has dismissed the FIR against Gandhi as an attempt to divert attention from the alleged purification incident.

Legal experts note that a zero FIR does not imply guilt, and the allegations will be examined by the investigating officer after the case is transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction. The development places the spotlight on how political events can trigger legal actions that intersect with constitutional safeguards against untouchability and caste-based discrimination.