SC for checking shrines on public land
The Supreme Court of India expressed its concern on religious shrines built on public land. The Court asked the Solicitor General to frame guidelines for preventing construction of shrines on public land in future.
THE SUPREME Court of India expressed its concern on religious shrines built on public land. Treading cautiously on a sensitive subject, the Apex Court opined that existing shrines on public land may not be relocated. However, care should be taken by the administration to ensure that such encroachments do not take place in future. The Court asked the Solicitor General to frame guidelines for preventing construction of shrines on public land in future.
The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by the Central government against an order of the Gujarat High Court directing the Modi government to remove all shrines that had encroached on public land. It may be recalled that there were riots in Vadodara when a Dargah built on public land was being removed. The Army was called out to stage a flag march to restore public confidence and re-establish law and order. A number of Hindu shrines were also demolished because they had encroached on public property. The Supreme Court had stayed the order of the Gujarat High Court in 2006 and the present hearing was an offshoot of that.
What an irony that the day the Supreme Court passed the above order against shrines encroaching on public land, a group of two hundred men performed Namaz on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road to be precise - and blocked the regular flow of traffic for an hour or so. The said group was legally prevented from performong Namaz on the premises of the Qutub Minar as that is a protected monument of the Archeological Survey of India and performance of a religious ritual is prohibited under law of the land. The Apex Court was rightly concerned about it and advised the framing of guidelines.
The Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice MK Sharma found nothing holy about such shrines and strssed to Gopal Subramaniam, Solicitor General of India the need for framing guidelines to strictly prohibit religious shrines from unauthorisedly occupying public land in the future. It is hoped that the government of India will enforce this direction without caring for its votebank as was the case in the past. It is seen that in some such cases the order of the Supreme Court remains unimplemented on the plea that it would disturb a hornet's nest and create a law and order problem of gigantic proportions. In this regard, the case of shifting some graves from one location to another comes to mind.
In some cases the commissions of enquiry dragged their feet and did not grapple with the main issue. The socio-religious structure of India is a complex one. That explains why the Apex Court chose not to disturb the status quo in respect of shrines encroaching on public land.
What an irony that the day the Supreme Court passed the above order against shrines encroaching on public land, a group of two hundred men performed Namaz on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon road to be precise - and blocked the regular flow of traffic for an hour or so. The said group was legally prevented from performong Namaz on the premises of the Qutub Minar as that is a protected monument of the Archeological Survey of India and performance of a religious ritual is prohibited under law of the land. The Apex Court was rightly concerned about it and advised the framing of guidelines.
The Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice MK Sharma found nothing holy about such shrines and strssed to Gopal Subramaniam, Solicitor General of India the need for framing guidelines to strictly prohibit religious shrines from unauthorisedly occupying public land in the future. It is hoped that the government of India will enforce this direction without caring for its votebank as was the case in the past. It is seen that in some such cases the order of the Supreme Court remains unimplemented on the plea that it would disturb a hornet's nest and create a law and order problem of gigantic proportions. In this regard, the case of shifting some graves from one location to another comes to mind.
In some cases the commissions of enquiry dragged their feet and did not grapple with the main issue. The socio-religious structure of India is a complex one. That explains why the Apex Court chose not to disturb the status quo in respect of shrines encroaching on public land.
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