This is your last chance, angry supreme court tells state governments.
Enough is enough. An exasperated Supreme Court on Monday warned all state governments and Union territories against putting up fresh places of worships in public places. Else, they could face “serious consequences”. No temples, churches, mosques or gurdwaras should be allowed in congested localities, the court said, adding, “This is the last chance”.
“We do not want to have any fresh construction. If anything happens after our order, you are going to be in great difficulty,” an anguished bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and AK Patnaik observed.
“Let the chief secretaries file their affidavit. They cannot treat it casually like they do in other cases and get away,” the bench virtually castigated the top-ranking bureaucracy for dilly-dallying with judicial orders.
The apex court vented its anger after noting that most states had not executed its September 29 order. The apex court had clamped down on mushrooming of religious shrines in every nook and corner of the country and directed the government to stop the constructions forthwith.
Solicitor general Gopal Subramanium had pleaded the government’s inability to pull down the existing structures as it might lead to serious law and order problems.
But the judges had told him, “As far as existing religious places are concerned, we can understand that demolition or removing them may create some law and order problem. But why don’t you consider preventing such constructions in future across the country?”
Subramaniam had assured the government that the entire matter was being looked into at the highest level. “It requires the consensus of all states. We will certainly take it up with the states and try to bring about consensus,” the S-G said.
The order comes in the Centre’s appeal against a May 2006 Gujarat high court order directing all municipal corporations in the state to demolish places of worship that obstruct roads and other places. The Centre intervened when the situation in Vadodara and some other Gujarat cities became tense after violence and the army staged a flag march in the affected areas.
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