Four law students from various law schools have approached the Bombay High Court to contest the Maharashtra government’s decision to declare a public holiday on January 22, coinciding with the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Today, the petitioners applied to the High Court registrar, requesting the formation of a special bench for an expedited hearing. In response, a special bench, comprising Justices GS Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale, has been assembled to hear the petition on January 21, 2024.
The petitioners, namely Shivangi Agarwal, Satyajeet Salve, Vedant Agrawal, and Khushi Bangia, are enrolled in law programs at Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Government Law College (GLC) in Mumbai, and NIRMA Law University in Gujarat.
They are seeking the annulment of the notification issued by the Maharashtra government on January 19.
Any policy regarding declaration of public holidays cannot be at the whims and fancies of the political party in power. 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 Pleaded
According to the petition, the notification issued by the State government amounts to utilizing public funds for religious purposes, a practice explicitly forbidden by the Constitution.
The petitioners underscored that the declaration of such public holidays could result in adverse consequences such as educational setbacks, financial losses, and disruptions in governance and public services, as schools, banks, and government offices would remain 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 Petiioner Stated
The petitioners have contested the 1968 notification from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which grants States the authority to invoke provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act for the declaration of public holidays.
