MP High Court Grants Bail To Former Bar President Over Protest Against Installation Of Ambedkar Statue In HC Premises At Gwalior

The Madhya Pradesh High Court (at Gwalior) on Wednesday (January 7) granted bail to former President of the High Court Bar Association Anil Mishra who was arrested in connection with a protest held in the city, allegedly against installation of a statue of BR Ambedkar within the high court premises at Gwalior.The division bench of Justice GS Ahluwalia and Justice Ashish Shroti observed that the police had violated the mandatory requirement of communicating the grounds of arrest in writing, as required under Section 47 BNSS. The court further noted that the petitioner was taken into custody prior to the registration of the FIR. As per the record, the petitioner was detained between 6:00 pm and 7:40 pm, the FIR was registered at 7:56 pm, while the formal arrest was shown at 11:40 pm. Holding the arrest to be illegal, the bench said:"This Court is of considered opinion that the police has violated the fundamental rights of the petitioner ensured under Article 22(5 of Constitution of India and by not complying with the mandatory provision of Section 47 of BNSS. Thus, the arrest of the Petitioner is held to be illegal...The Petitioner shall be released on bail on furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of C.J.M., Gwalior". BackgroundOn November 12, 2025 one PG Najpande filed a PIL before the Principal Bench at Jabalpur challenging the Gwalior Collector's order granting permission to install the statue of BR Ambedkar at the premises. Najpande contended that Mishra had, according to a media report, called for a protest on November 16, which was likely to cause unrest. Accordingly, Najpande sought protective orders to ensure the life and property of the residents were not affected. The bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf (at Jabalpur) directed the State to maintain law and order and safeguard public life and property. The Gwalior Collector was also directed to instruct the print and electronic media not to publish news relating to the protest call issued by Mishra. Proceedings Before Gwalior BenchOn January 3, Mishra approached the division bench of Justice GS Ahluwalia and Justice Ashish Shroti, challenging the action of police officers on the ground that he had been arrested before registration of FIR and that the grounds of arrest had not been communicated to him. Though he initially sought the quashing of the FIR, the prayer was dropped as the investigation was at a preliminary stage. The State had argued that the petitioner who is respondent no.5 in the PIL before principal seat has acted in flagrant violation of interim order therefore, the Petitioner should have either filed the present writ petition before the Principal Seat of this Court at Jabalpur or should have filed an interlocutory application in the said writ petition thereby pointing out his grievances, therefore, this Court should not hear the matter. The petitioner opposed this and argued that in the the PIL, the main relief is with regard to challenge to the order of Collector, Gwalior by which permission was granted to install the statute of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in the High Court premises, whereas the dispute in the petitioner's plea is with regard to an alleged offence which has no nexus with main subject matter of the PIL. The State argued that in compliance with the November 12 order of the Principal Bench, the Executive Magistrate had initiated proceedings under Section 126 and 135 of BNSS against Mishra. These sections empower a Magistrate to take steps to ensure public tranquillity and peace. The Executive Magistrate had further directed Mishra to execute a bail bond for keeping the peace and maintaining good behaviour until the conclusion of the enquiry. The State argued that despite multiple opportunities, Mishra did not execute the bond. It was alleged that the petitioner had along with 50-60 advocates, had submitted a memorandum and subsequently indulged in acts including burning and trampling upon a photograph of Dr Ambedkar, raising derogatory slogans and circulating videos on social media. It was argued that the police acted swiftly and in a bona fide manner. Court's ObservationsWith respect to the alleged incident, the bench noted:"It is not out of place to mention here that the alleged incident took place in front of the office of Senior Superintendent of Police, Gwalior and Inspector General of Police, Gwalior Zone, but it appears that the police did not take any action to prevent the commission of alleged offence, or to implement the prohibitory order issued by District Magistrate, Gwalior under Section 163 of B.N.S.S".Regarding the prayer challenging the remand order, the bench noted that it could not examine the correctness of the remand order or the rejection of bail by the JMFC. However, it granted liberty to Mishra to approach the appropriate forum. The division bench also held that the writ petition in the form of Habeas...

MP High Court Grants Bail To Former Bar President Over Protest Against Installation Of Ambedkar Statue In HC Premises At Gwalior

Jayanti Pahwa

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