The Allahabad High Court has granted interim relief in a complaint case arising out of an ashram-related dispute in Mathura district by staying the entire criminal proceedings pending before the trial court until further orders.
The order was passed by a Single Bench of Justice Nand Prabha Shukla while hearing an application filed under Section 528 of the BNSS by Gopal Sharan (Mahant Gopal Sharan Das) and two others.
According to the case, the complainant, Sulekha Sharma, a resident of Delhi, had lodged Complaint Case No. 1258 of 2021 (Sulekha Sharma v. Mahant Gopal Sharan Das and two others) against the Mahant and two security guards of the ashram under Sections 323, 324, 504 and 120-B of the IPC.
Dissatisfied by the initiation of the proceedings, the applicants approached the High Court challenging the continuation of the criminal case.
The applicants alleged that the complainant was attempting to trespass into the ashram premises with the intention of illegally encroaching upon the “Sant Kuti” situated within the ashram, which was resisted by them.
Counsel for the applicants, Akshay Raghuvanshi, submitted before the Court that the dispute is essentially civil in nature and has been deliberately given a criminal colour. It was further argued that there is no medical injury report on record to substantiate the allegations and that the complaint is based on false and baseless claims.
After a preliminary hearing, the High Court observed that the matter requires consideration and accordingly issued notice to the opposite party. The Court directed that the entire proceedings arising out of the complaint case shall remain stayed until further orders.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on March 31, 2026, and time has been granted to the opposite parties to file their response.
Case: Gopal Sharan And 2 Others vs State of U.P. and Another
Date of Order: 03.02.2026
See Order: Gopal Sharan And 2 Others vs State of U.P. and Another
