Madhya Pradesh High Court. (File photo)
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed to provide details related to temples and other religious places constructed within police stations in the state. A division bench of Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was hearing the case on Monday. The court has ordered the government to provide relevant information within seven days. In addition, details of the date of construction of the religious site and the order for its establishment were also asked.
In fact, this matter is related to the petition regarding the construction of a religious place inside the police station. Petitioner advocate Satish Chandra Verma challenged this, saying it violated the basic spirit of the Constitution. The petition stated that 800 of the 1,259 police stations in the state have religious places on their premises. The petitioners consider this a misuse of government property and a violation of religious neutrality.
Government blamed for failure to respond
So far, the government has not given a satisfactory answer at the hearing. The High Court rejected the government’s arguments, making it clear that it would only accept specific information in this case. The court also said that there is a need to know the legality and complete details of the orders behind the construction of religious places.
constitutional issues
The petition claimed that the construction of a religious place within the police station violated Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 25 (freedom of religion) of the Constitution. The petitioners argued that this act was an illegal use of government property and should be considered a violation of the principle of maintaining religious neutrality.
Next hearing date
The next hearing in the case will be on January 6. So far, the government has been ordered to provide all relevant data and documents to the court. Petitioner advocate Satish Verma said the case violated the fundamental spirit of the Constitution and the principle of secularism. We hope the High Court can seriously deal with this matter. Considering the seriousness of the matter, this high court order may be a huge challenge for the police department and the state government.
