Prabhakar Bhat Kalladka faces an FIR over his remarks made against Muslim women during a public event last year
BENGALURU — The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday advised RSS leader Dr Prabhakar Bhat Kalladka to exercise restraint in his public speeches. The court was hearing a petition seeking the quashing of an FIR lodged against him over his remarks made against Muslim women during a public event last year.
During the hearing, Justice M Nagaprasanna pointed out that repeated controversial speeches had resulted in a series of complaints against the RSS functionary.
“Without venom, you speak. Why give rise to complaints after complaints? However, the matter we will answer legally,” the judge remarked during the proceedings.
The case pertains to a speech delivered by Kalladka during a Deepotsava programme in Uppalige village of Puttur taluk in October 2025. The 83-year-old right-wing leader had approached the high court seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against him.
The complainant, Ishwari Padmunja of the Karnataka State Dalita Hakkugala Rajya Samiti, said that Kalladka had repeatedly made inflammatory speeches targeting Muslims and sought court intervention to prevent similar statements in the future.
According to submissions made before the court, Kalladka frequently used public platforms to spread communal hostility. The complainant’s counsel argued that Kalladka’s speeches had become a recurring source of tension and controversy.
The FIR stems from allegations that Kalladka compared birth rates among Hindus and Muslims and expressed concern over what he described as a decline in the Hindu population in certain areas, including the Ullal Assembly constituency.
According to the complaint, he referred to Muslim women having multiple children and urged Hindu families to have at least three children in every household. The speech reportedly linked the call for population growth to Lord Mahalingeshwara.
The complainant alleged that such remarks insulted the dignity of women, promoted religious divisions and had the potential to disturb public peace.
Based on the complaint, Puttur Rural Police registered a case against Kalladka under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections dealing with promoting enmity between communities and acts prejudicial to public order.
When the complainant sought an interim direction restraining Kalladka from making similar speeches, the court noted that the leader had already given an undertaking to refrain from repeating such remarks.
Justice Nagaprasanna also indicated that while concerns had been raised regarding the nature of the speeches, the court would examine the matter strictly on legal grounds.
The high court had earlier directed authorities to place the complete transcript of the speech on record and granted protection from coercive action to Kalladka while the case remains under consideration. That interim relief has been extended from time to time.
The court has now tagged the petition with connected cases and posted the matter for further hearing on June 16.
The latest proceedings add to a long list of legal challenges faced by Kalladka, a prominent right-wing leader from Dakshina Kannada district. During the hearing, the complainant’s counsel informed the court that nearly a dozen FIRs have been registered against him over the years, many of them relating to speeches concerning Muslims, demographic issues, alleged “love jihad” and comments about women’s reproductive choices.
Several complaints filed since 2018 have accused him of promoting communal disharmony, making derogatory remarks against minorities and delivering speeches that allegedly incite hostility between religious communities.
Most recently, on June 2, Bantwal Rural Police registered another FIR against Kalladka over an alleged anti-Muslim speech delivered at a condolence meeting in Kavalapadur village of Dakshina Kannada district.
With multiple cases now linked before the high court, the legal scrutiny surrounding the leader’s public speeches is set to continue in the coming weeks.
