Muzaffarnagar Riots Case: Court Allows Withdrawal Of Case Against 25 BJP Leaders, Activists

A special MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh has allowed the prosecution to withdraw a case against 25 BJP leaders and Hindu activists accused in connection with a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots-related incident.

The order, passed on Wednesday by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate and MP-MLA court judge Devendra Kumar Faujdar, came after the Uttar Pradesh government decided to withdraw the case.

The accused include Uttar Pradesh minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, former Union minister Sanjeev Balyan and former state minister Suresh Rana. Former state minister Ashok Kataria, former BJP MPs Bhartendu Singh and Sohanvir Singh, former BJP MLAs Ashok Kansal and Umesh Malik, VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi and Narsinghanand of Dasna Shiv Temple are among the others named.

The case relates to a mahapanchayat held at Nagla Mador on July 31, 2013, amid rising communal tensions in western Uttar Pradesh. The accused were facing allegations of violating prohibitory orders, obstructing public servants and making speeches that allegedly had the potential to incite communal tension.

The controversy surrounding the gathering came against the backdrop of a rapidly escalating conflict in Muzaffarnagar. Tensions had intensified after the killing of two Jat youths and a Muslim man in August 2013, following an altercation reportedly linked to the harassment of a woman. The incident and subsequent developments triggered protests and communal mobilisation across the region.

A large mahapanchayat was subsequently held, drawing thousands of people. Violence erupted in Muzaffarnagar and spread to neighbouring districts in the days that followed. More than 60 people were killed and over 40,000 were displaced, according to official figures, making it one of the most serious episodes of communal violence in Uttar Pradesh in recent decades.

The latest order brings a significant development in one of the cases arising from the events surrounding the 2013 Muzaffarnagar violence, which left a lasting political and social impact on western Uttar Pradesh.