Ali Khamenei Portrait Row Reaches Allahabad High Court: PIL Alleges Illegal Police Interference With Shia Mourning

Can the police ask citizens to remove a religious leader's portrait from the walls of their private homes in the absence of any prohibitory order? This question has reached the Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) through a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Majlis Ulema-e-Hind, which alleges that Uttar Pradesh Police compelled residents to remove portraits of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and initiated criminal action against peaceful Shia mourners, violating their constitutional rights.

The PIL, filed by the organisation's General Secretary Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi through Advocate Mohd. Kumail Haider seeks directions restraining police across Uttar Pradesh from taking coercive action against persons peacefully displaying portraits of Shia spiritual leaders or participating in religious mourning assemblies. It also seeks a direction to the State government to decide a representation submitted by the organisation on June 12 this year.

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tehran on February 28, 2026, and his death was officially confirmed by the Iranian government on March 1, 2026. Shia communities in India and abroad thereafter held mourning assemblies and displayed his portraits as an expression of religious grief and solidarity.

The PIL plea states that on March 3, 2026, UP police at Nanauta in Saharanpur district registered an FIR against 26 named persons and over 150 unidentified persons after they allegedly took out a night-time mourning procession following the late Supreme Leader's death. According to the petition, the procession was peaceful, no law-and-order situation had arisen and no prior administrative permission had been obtained. It contends that the criminal proceedings were disproportionate and violated the participants' constitutional rights.

The plea also refers to another incident on June 29, 2026, in Maurawan town of Unnao district, where police personnel allegedly approached residents after noticing a portrait of Khamenei displayed on the outer wall of a private residence and persuaded them to remove it.

The petition claims there was no prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, [earlier Section 144 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)] or any other written restriction in force, and that the police cited maintenance of "public sentiment" ahead of an upcoming festival as the reason for the removal. The plea has annexed contemporaneous media reports relating to the incident.

Relying on these incidents, the petition contends that compelling citizens to remove religious portraits displayed on private property without any statutory backing amounts to an unconstitutional intrusion into personal liberty and property rights.

It argues that restrictions on peaceful religious expression must be founded on written statutory authority and cannot be imposed through oral directions or informal persuasion by the police.

The plea further submits that displaying portraits of revered spiritual guides and participating in Azadari processions are protected manifestations of the freedoms of speech, peaceful assembly and religion guaranteed under Articles 19, 25 and 26 of the Constitution. It also invokes Articles 14, 21 and 300A, contending that the impugned police action fails the test of legality and proportionality.

The petition also refers to the Union government's official condolences following Khamenei's death, arguing that treating similar expressions of mourning by citizens as objectionable is inconsistent with the Centre's diplomatic position.

The petitioner has sought a writ directing all district police chiefs, Superintendents of Police and Station House Officers in Uttar Pradesh not to take coercive action against persons peacefully displaying portraits of global Shia spiritual leaders or participating in religious mourning assemblies.

It has also sought directions restraining the police from interfering with or removing portraits and banners of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Al-Sistani when they are lawfully displayed on private residential or commercial properties. Additionally, the PIL seeks a direction to the State authorities to decide the petitioner's representation dated June 12, 2026, within a specified time.

Case Title: Majlis Ulema-e-Hind, through its General Secretary Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.