Law students move PIL in HC against Maharashtra govt’s decision of public holiday on January 22
The petitioners have sought the constitution of a special bench to hear their plea
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“Holiday can be declared perhaps to commemorate a patriotic personality or historic figure but not to celebrate consecration of Ram Lalla to appease a particular section of the society or religious community,” the petition states. (File)Four law students on Saturday approached the Bombay High Court with a PIL challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision declaring a public holiday on January 22 to mark the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The petitioners filed an application to the HC, seeking a special bench’s constitution to hear their plea on Sunday. A bench of Justice Girish S Kulkarni and Justice Neela K Gokhale is likely to hear the plea.
The petitioners, law students from Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Government Law College(GLC), Mumbai and NIRMA Law University, Gujarat sought quashing a January 19 notification of the state government claiming that “any policy regarding declaration of public holidays cannot be at the whims and fancies of the political party in power.” Pending hearing of the plea, they have sought stay on effect of the notification.
“Holiday can be declared perhaps to commemorate a patriotic personality or historic figure but not to celebrate consecration of Ram lalla to appease a particular section of the society or religious community,” the petition states.
The petitioners, Shivangi Agarwal, Satyajeet Salve, Vedant Agrawal, Khushi Bangia, also challenged a notification issued by Union Ministry of Home Affairs on May 8, 1968 that empowered the states to exercise powers under the Negotiable Instruments Act to declare public holidays.
The petitioners claimed declaring a public holiday will “lead to loss of education if the educational institutions are closed, financial loss if banking institutions are closed, and loss of governance and public works if government and public offices are closed”.
“In the absence of legislation conferring power to declare a public holiday on the State governments and without there being guidelines which are secular in nature, such declarations to appease a majority community that too for political purposes would be a sheer abuse of power and would destroy secular fabric of India,” the plea added.
The PIL claimed declaring a holiday to celebrate the Ram Mandir’s consecration was “nothing but expending from Government exchequer for religious purposes which is expressly prohibited by Article 27 (no person can be taxed for promoting a religion or maintaining a religious institution) of the Constitution.”
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