Justice Ujjal Bhuyan condemns Ganga chicken biryani arrests

Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan questioned the arrest of 14 Muslim youths in Varanasi who were accused of eating chicken biryani on a boat on the Ganga during Ramadan. The youths were detained in March under sections 298 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions related to public nuisance and water pollution, after complaints that they threw bones and food waste into the sacred river.

Speaking at the Justice GP Singh Memorial Lecture at the National Law Institute University in Bhopal, Justice Bhuyan said there is no law prohibiting the consumption of chicken over the Ganga and criticized the criminalisation of ordinary actions and peaceful dissent. He highlighted the three‑month pre‑trial detention of the youths, delayed bail, and restrictive bail conditions as punitive measures that discourage citizens from exercising their fundamental freedoms.

Bhuyan warned that the shrinking space for dissent and the treatment of ordinary activities as criminal conduct pose serious constitutional concerns for India’s democracy.