‘Be secular’: SC on plea seeking ban on parties using religious symbols
New Delhi: “The petitioner must be secular. You may not join all political parties, but you can select a party of each particular religion on a symbolic basis. An impression may not be given that petition is against a particular community,” a bench of justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Syed Waseem Rizvi
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Syed Waseem Rizvi, former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf, who converted to Hindu religion in 2021, and has since been accused in multiple cases of hate speech against Muslims.
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by Syed Waseem Rizvi, former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf, who converted to Hindu religion in 2021, and has since been accused in multiple cases of hate speech against Muslims.
Any ban on political parties using religious symbolism should not give an impression that only one particular community was being targeted, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday after it directed a petition that wants two political parties, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), to be more secular.
“The petitioner must be secular. You may not join all political parties, but you can select a party of each particular religion on a symbolic basis. An impression may not be given that petition is against a particular community,” a bench of justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Syed Waseem Rizvi, former chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf, who converted to Hindu religion in 2021, and has since been accused in multiple cases of hate speech against Muslims.
The Court posted the matter for hearing on March 20 as the petitioner and Election Commission of India sought time to file responses to affidavits filed by IUML and AIMIM, which raised objections to the maintainability of the petition and the credentials of the petitioner, who apparently failed to disclose the fact of his conversion and subsequent conduct of facing criminal charges.
