Thu, 8 Oct, 2026, 08:02 am
Reported by LawChakra
Gujarat High Court Quashes Case Against Surat Trader: printed Buddha images near a saree’s pallu and border, without deliberate and malicious intent, do not attract Section 295A IPC.
Ahmedabad: An FIR and all consequential proceedings under Sections 295A and 114 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against a Surat textile trader, accused of hurting religious feelings by selling sarees and dress material printed with images of Lord Gautam Buddha near the pallu and border, have been quashed by the Gujarat High Court, which held that routine commercial activity without a demonstrable intent to denigrate a belief is not an offence [Bharatbhai Hirjibhai Shankar v. State of Gujarat and Another] .
Justice P. M. Raval allowed the application under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and made the rule absolute in the order dated October 7, 2026.
The Court first set out the categories in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal in which inherent powers can be used to prevent abuse of process. On the reach of Section 295A it relied on Mahendra Singh Dhoni v. Yerraguntla Shyamsundar and the Constitution Bench decision in Ramji Lal Modi v. State of U.P. , and held:
