Breaking: SC issues notice in Petition seeking expunction of Hindu Rashtra remarks in Meghalaya HC judgment

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Meghalaya High Court in a PIL seeking the expunction of controversial statements made in its judgment that India should have been declared a Hindu Rashtra at the time of partition.

The matter was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

In the petition filed through advocate Ashutosh Dubey, the petitioners have contended that the judgment authored by Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen is legally flawed and historically misleading, with the judge making Islamophobic remarks and indulging in judicial overreach.

The role of a judge is to limit himself to the question at hand and answer it within the framework of the law and the Constitution, the petition states.

However, the observations made by the judge violate the citizenship law and makes a case for India as a country of and for Hindus, the petition contends.

Referring to the suggestions in the judgment to enact laws to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhist, Parsis, Christians, Khasis, Jaintias and Garos who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the petition states that the judge himself is opposing Article 15 of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion.

The petitioner has made, inter alia, the following prayers:

• Expunction of remarks in the judgment to the effect that the NRC process being carried out is defective.
• Quashing of the direction that Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians, Khasis, Garos from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan be granted citizenship without production of any documents.
• Quashing of remarks in the judgment on the “brazen communal view” on partition by Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen.
• Caution Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen to refrain from passing such controversial judgments in the future and refrain from reflecting personal affiliation to any political party in his judgments.

The Court issued notice with respect to all prayers except the prayer to caution Justice Sen.

Read the order below.