On 21 May, the Congress-led government in Karnataka decided to withdraw 52 criminal cases registered across different police stations in the state. The decision was defended by Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara, who stated that pro-Kannada groups, farmers’ organizations, and several agitators had been requesting the withdrawal of cases for years.
According to Parameshwara, the state government referred the matter to a cabinet subcommittee, which examined each case individually before recommending their withdrawal. He claimed that the decision was taken only after legal consideration and not in haste.
As per OpIndia reports, the withdrawn cases reportedly include matters related to Cauvery protests, Kalasa-Banduri agitations, and demonstrations led by pro-Kannada organizations, including multiple cases against Vatal Nagaraj. Karnataka Minister H. K. Patil also informed that some related matters are still before the Karnataka High Court.
However, major controversy erupted after it emerged that seven of the withdrawn cases were connected to the 2022 anti-Hindu violence at the Ladle Mashak Dargah in Aland, a town in the Kalaburagi district. The incidents had involved violent clashes, attacks on Hindu activists, and assaults on police personnel.
The violence broke out after Hindu organizations planned to perform puja at the Raghavachaitanya Shivalinga located within the dargah premises. Hindu groups had announced a purification ritual after Islamist miscreants allegedly desecrated the Shivalinga by throwing human feces on it days earlier.
As Hindu activists marched toward the dargah for the puja, a large Islamist mob reportedly gathered outside the premises to block the procession. Reports indicated that local Muslims had simultaneously organized a Shab-e-Barat procession at the shared religious site on the same day.
Tensions escalated rapidly when the Islamist mob allegedly displayed sharp weapons, sticks, and other objects while confronting the Hindu groups. Members of the dargah committee reportedly locked the gates and refused entry to the Hindu devotees.
Soon after, violent clashes broke out, with stone pelting reported from the Islamist mob targeting Hindu activists and security personnel. Several people sustained injuries in the violence. Vehicles belonging to Union Minister Bhagwanth Khuba and former MLA B. R. Patil, along with vehicles of the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police, were also attacked during the unrest.
Following the clashes, Kalaburagi police arrested more than 167 individuals, including ten women, for their alleged involvement in the violence. The accused were booked under multiple provisions of the IPC, including Sections 143, 147, 307, 353, 427, 504, and 120B, along with charges under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
When questioned specifically about the withdrawal of cases linked to the dargah violence and attacks on police personnel, Parameshwara avoided giving detailed comments, stating only that the cabinet had taken the decision after considering all relevant facts.
The Karnataka government’s move reflects a deeply troubling trend in contemporary politics where communal calculations increasingly appear to override constitutional morality. Riot cases involving allegations such as attempted murder, conspiracy, and attacks on public servants cannot be casually diluted under political pressure. When constitutional offices are perceived as intervening selectively for one religious community, public trust in neutrality collapses.
A democratic state cannot simultaneously demand respect for institutions while weakening criminal accountability for politically sensitive groups. If the accused are truly innocent, courts exist to determine that through evidence and due process. But political recommendations seeking withdrawal of serious riot cases against Islamist miscreants are truly unjust to the Hindu victims. The same thing happened in September 2025, when the Siddaramaiah government withdrew over 60 riot and stone-pelting cases, many allegedly linked to Islamist mobs, the Deputy CM and his supporters. This is a deeply disturbing trend, reflecting the worst form of bootlicking and appeasement politics by Congress in Karnataka.
