NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Friday trashed a petition against the Karnataka government’s invite to Booker prize winner author Banu Mushtaq as chief guest for the Mysuru Dasara festival at Chamundeshwari temple. Dismissing its claim that participation of a “non-Hindu would hurt religious sentiments”, the court said in a secular country, there can be no discrimination on ground of religion in a state function.”Why did you not object when Dr Nissar Ahmed was invited…(to same festival) in 2017,” the bench asked.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked, “What does the Preamble of the Constitution tell us? We are a secular country?”Appearing for petitioner H S Gaurav, senior advocate P B Suresh said there is no objection to Mushtaq being the chief guest, but she is a non-Hindu and should not be permitted to do puja inside the temple. The bench refused to entertain the plea and uttered “dismissed” thrice to deter Suresh from prolonging the arguments.The Karnataka HC had dismissed Gaurav’s writ petition after state advocate general K Shashikiran Shetty told the court that on Oct 26, 2016 the state had issued a circular declaring that all temples coming under the jurisdiction of the department of religious endowments of the govt, as well as private temples, were required to grant free entry for all, for the darshan of the deity, without distinction of caste, community, religion and gender. The HC had said, “We are unable to accept that any legal or constitutional right of the petitioners is violated by extending the invitation to Mushtaq to inaugurate the State sponsored Dasara festivities. Participation of a person practising a particular faith or religion, in celebrations of festivals of other religions does not offend the rights available under the Constitution. In our view, the extension of invitation to Mushtaq does not fall foul of any of the values enshrined in Constitution.”
