The Allahabad High Court observed that throwing non-vegetarian food waste into the Ganga River could hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community. The remarks were made while granting bail to five persons accused of throwing leftovers into the river during an iftar party that was held on a boat in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, reported PTI.

"The applicants are apologetic for their actions, and even their families also regret the pain that had been caused to the society at large," Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla said.

"Taking note of the entire facts and circumstances of the case, the lack of criminal antecedents of the applicants, the period of detention already undergone, and also the apology expressed, as recorded above, prima facie a case for bail is made out," the court stated.

The remarks were made on May 15, when the single-judge bench of Justice Shukla granted bail to accused-applicants -- Mohammad Azad Ali, Mohammad Tahseem, Nihal Afridi, Mohammad Tauseef Ahmad, and Mohammad Anas.

According to the order, the present case involves members of the Muslim community having an iftar party.

Also Read:'Iftar Party' on Boat in Ganga: Varanasi Court Denies Bail to 14 Accused

"During the said Iftar party, while partaking of food, non-vegetarian food is said to have been consumed by the members of the Muslim community, who are then alleged to have thrown the remains into the River Ganges. This fact in the dispassionate opinion of the Court could rightly be said to hurt religious sentiments of the Hindu community," the Court observed.

Notably, the accused had been in jail since March 17, 2026. They reportedly regretted their action and had also undertaken never to repeat any such act in the future.

Meanwhile, in the same case, Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha on May 15 granted bail to three accused namely Mohammad Sameer, Mohammad Ahmad Raza and Mohammad Faizan.

The FIR was lodged on March 16 based on a complaint filed by Rajat Jaiswal, the president of the Varanasi chapter of the BJP Yuva Morcha, claiming that the incident hurt the sentiments of the Hindus. The complaint mentioned that the accused broke their Ramzan fast on a boat in the Ganga on March 15, ate meat, and threw the leftovers into the holy river.

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