New Delhi, September 19: India’s Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the Karnataka government’s decision to invite Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq, a Muslim, to inaugurate the historic Dasara festival in Mysuru, citing the Constitution’s secular principles.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta upheld a Karnataka High Court order, saying the event was a state function and could not exclude any dignitary on religious grounds. “This is a State event and not a private programme… The State cannot distinguish between A, B or C religion,” Justice Nath said during the hearing.
The petitioner, Bengaluru resident H.S. Gaurav, had argued that only a Hindu dignitary should perform the pooja at the Chamundeshwari temple, calling it an essential religious practice protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. His counsel claimed that asking Mushtaq to participate in rituals violated established Hindu customs.
The court, however, reminded the petitioner of the Preamble, which enshrines secularism, liberty, equality and fraternity as “cardinal to national unity.” It also cited earlier rulings, including the Kesavananda Bharati and S.R. Bommai judgments, which established secularism as a basic feature of the Constitution, and the 1994 Ismail Faruqui case that held the state maintains no religion of its own.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Karnataka government, welcomed the ruling. The Mysuru Dasara festivities, which begin on September 22, are among the most prominent cultural celebrations in southern India.
