Supreme Court says may not reconsider Hindutva verdict
A seven-judge bench led by chief justice T.S. Thakur is hearing a case to decide the question of whether politicians can use religion to seek votes in an electoral campaign
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said in an oral observation that the court’s 1995 ruling that defined Hindutva may not be reconsidered.
“This issue is not in our consideration now,” the court said.
The court’s observation came during a seven-judge bench hearing in which O.P Gupta, a former diplomat had approached the court seeking to be heard on the issue of defining Hindutva. Senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, appearing for Gupta told the court that Gupta, an author of books on Hindutva must be heard.
Hearing on Gupta’s plea has been deferred.
A seven-judge bench led by chief justice T.S. Thakur is hearing a case to decide the question of whether politicians can use religion to seek votes in an electoral campaign.
In its 1995 ruling, a three-judge bench led by former chief justice J.S. Verma had said that “Hindutva” represents “a way of life and not a religion in India”, allowing the word to be used in election campaigns.
The seven-judge bench led by chief justice T.S. Thakur said that the constitutional debate will be limited to the scope and practice of Sec 123 (3) of the People’s Representation Act.
Section 123 (3) of the People’s Representation Act of 1951 provides that no candidate or his agent can appeal for votes on the grounds of his religion, race, caste, community or language, religious symbols for prejudicing the election.
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First Published:26 Oct 2016, 09:42 AM IST
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