Allahabad High Court Seeks Stand Of UOI & UP Govt On Holding Of Caste-Based Rallies By Political Parties

A bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla passed this order on a PIL plea filed by Advocate Moti Lal Yadav. The PIL plea seeks a ban on all political rallies that organise caste rallies and a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to cancel the registration of political parties that organise such rallies.

Hearing the plea in 2013, the High Court had issued a notice to the ECI and other political parties and issued interim directions to ban all such caste-based rallies across Uttar Pradesh. However, no replies have been filed by any political parties arrayed in the PIL plea to date.

In 2023, the ECI informed the court that it has no Jurisdiction to ban caste-based rallies organised by political parties in the non-election period or to ban them from contesting subsequent polls.

On September 3, 2025, the Court asked the petitioner in person to provide a copy of the pleadings to Advocate Ashwini Kumar Singh, appearing for the Union of India, who was in turn directed to file his response to the writ petition, specifically indicating the stand of the Union of India with regard to holding of caste based rally.

The bench also asked the State Government to file a specific affidavit in this regard expressing its stand.

Furthermore, posting the matter for the second week of October 2025, the bench clarified that if the responses are not filed by then, the concerned Officers shall be summoned in view of the fact that the plea has remained pending for quite some time.