The Bombay High Court in the case observed wherein the Public Interest Litigation, PIL is moved by law student challenging the notification of Maharashtra government’s, declaring January 22, 2024 a public holiday for the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
The law students from MNLU, Mumbai, GLC and NIRMA law school have sought the constitution of a special bench to hear the matter on January 21, 2024.
The petitioner in the plea contended that declaring a public holiday to celebrate a religious
event violates the principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution of India.
It has been argued before the court that the state cannot associate with or promote any
particular religion. The petitioner in the plea states that an act of the Government in celebrating and openly participating in the consecration of a Hindu temple thereby in court
associating with the particular religion is nothing but a direct attack on the principles of secularism. Further, the petitioner in the plea quote previous judgements of Supreme Court that have upheld secularism as a basic feature of the Constitution of India. It has also been argued before the court that the notification goes against this constitutional mandate.
The petition also referred to the case S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, wherein the Supreme
Court held that any State Government which pursues an unsecular course, which being
contrary to the constitutional mandate, renders itself amenable to action under Article
356 of the Constitution of India that subjects them to dismissal. The plea contended that the notification is politically motivated, with an eye on the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Further, the plea stated that it is not just a mere coincidence that the consecration is scheduled just prior to the 2024 Parliamentary elections and what is more starkling is that the Hon’ble Supreme Court while directing the constitution of a public trust for supervising
the construction of the Ram Temple had further directed for the allotment of 5 acres separate land to the Sunni Waqf Board for construction of the mosque.
Thus, although the land has been allotted, the construction of the said mosque has not yet
started. Adding to it, the petition challenges the jurisdiction of Maharashtra government’s in issuing the notification as stated under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, NI Act. It argued before the court that only the central government has the power to notify public holidays under the said provision. It has been stated with regards to the that any policy declaration of public holidays cannot be at the whims and fancies of the political party in power. Thus, the Holiday can be declared perhaps to commemorate a patriotic personality or historic figure but not to celebrate consecration of Ramlalla to appease a particular section of the society or religious community.
The present plea is moved by law students Shivangi Agarwal, Satyajeet Siddharth Salve, Vedant Gaurav Agrawal and Khushi Sandeep Bangia through Talekar and Associates.