Four law students have moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government’s order declaring January 22, the day when the consecration ceremony will be held at Ayodhya Ram temple, a public holiday.
A bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale will hear the matter on Sunday.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Shivangi Agarwal, Satyajeet Siddharth Salve, Vedant Gaurav Agrawal and Khushi Sandeep Bangia—the students from MNLU, Mumbai, GLC and NIRMA law school.
A state government notification on Friday said exercising powers given by the Ministry of Home Affairs, it has decided to announce a public holiday on January 22.
The petitioners, however, claimed that declaring holiday to celebrate a religious event violates the principles of secularism enshrined in the Constitution.
"An act of the Government in celebrating and openly participating in the consecration of a Hindu temple thereby associating with a particular religion is nothing but a direct attack on the principles of secularism," the PIL said, reported the Live Law.
The students alleged that the government’s notification was politically motivated, with an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The PIL further challenged the Maharashtra government’s jurisdiction in issuing the notification under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, saying only the central government has the power to declare public holidays under this provision.
Several states have declared half-day holiday on January 22 while Maharashtra is one of the few states which declared a full holiday. Central government offices will also have a half working day on January 22.
