Mumbai :-Four law students have filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government’s notification declaring January 22, 2024 a public holiday for the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
A special bench of Justices GS Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale has been constituted to hear the matter tomorrow.
The petitioners are students from MNLU, Mumbai, GLC and NIRMA law school. Their plea contends that declaring a public holiday to celebrate a religious event violates the principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution. It argues that the state cannot associate with or promote any particular religion
“An act of the Government in celebrating and openly participating in the consecration of a Hindu temple thereby associating with a particular religion
The petitioners quote previous Supreme Court judgments that have upheld secularism as a basic feature of the Constitution. It argues that the notification goes against this constitutional mandate
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India has held that any State Government which pursues an unsecular course, contrary to the constitutional mandate, renders itself amenable to action under Article 356 of the Constitution that subjects them to dismissal,” the petition highlights.
The petitioners also contend that the notification is politically motivated, with an eye on the 2024 parliamentary elections.
