The Kerala High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against Himaval Maheshwara Bhadrananda, commonly known as Swami Bhadrananda, in a case related to alleged hate speech. The case stemmed from a Facebook post made by Bhadrananda in 2016, which was accused of promoting religious enmity.
The judgment was passed by Justice V.G. Arun, who held that there was an unjustified delay by the police in submitting the final report, making the continuation of the case legally unsustainable.
“It is settled law that final report filed hastily without completing the investigation or appending the relevant documents, cannot be treated as final report filed in accordance with Section 173 of the Code,” the Court observed.
The initial First Information Report (FIR) against Bhadrananda was registered in 2016 under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, or residence. However, the final report in the case was filed only on 03.02.2023, well beyond the three-year limitation period prescribed under Section 468 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.).
According to the case details, Bhadrananda had allegedly made a social media post that was considered derogatory and hurtful to the religious sentiments of the Muslim community. Though he deleted the post following controversy, a criminal case was registered, and the investigation began.
Earlier, Bhadrananda had drawn media attention in 2008 when he was involved in an incident at the Aluva police station, where he reportedly fired a gun at journalists. Even in that matter, the High Court had quashed charges under the Arms Act related to his arms license.
In the present matter, Bhadrananda’s legal team argued that the maximum punishment under Section 153A IPC is three years, and hence, the final police report should have been submitted within that timeframe. The court was also informed that although a report was submitted in February 2020, it was returned by the Magistrate due to missing documents, such as the seizure mahazar and prosecution sanction.
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“Even if 28.02.2020 is taken as the date of filing final report, that is also beyond the three year period prescribed in Section 468 Cr.P.C.” — Kerala High Court
The Magistrate's report clarified that the police failed to submit a petition for condonation of delay under Section 473 Cr.P.C. along with the final report. This further weakened the prosecution’s position.
The Public Prosecutor argued that the delay occurred because the case diary went missing, and it took time to retrieve it. However, the Court noted that even the 2020 report cannot be considered valid as a “final report” under Section 173 CrPC due to missing documentation.
Moreover, the cognizance of the case was only taken on 07.02.2023, which was also after the expiry of the three-year limitation period under Section 468 CrPC. The court emphasized that without a valid reason for condoning the delay, the proceedings could not be allowed to continue.
“No petition for condonation of delay was filed. Hence, cognizance taken beyond the period of limitation is not sustainable in law,” the Court said.
As a result, the Court concluded that allowing the proceedings to continue would amount to an abuse of the legal process and, therefore, quashed the criminal case against Swami Bhadrananda.
Counsel for the Petitioner: Advocates S. Jayant, Abhiremya Raj R. B., Govind V. P., Shahanaz B., Gayathri R
Counsel for the Respondents: Adv. M. C. Ashi (PP)
Case No: Crl.MC 8681 of 2024
Case Title: Himaval Maheshwara Bhadrananda v State of Kerala and Another
