NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court in a special sitting on Saturday stayed an Allahabad High Court order directing the astrology department of the University of Lucknow to examine the horoscope of an alleged rape victim to ascertain if she is a Manglik. The man who was accused of raping the victim on the false promise of marriage had allegedly backed out after learning that she was a Manglik.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the order, a vacation bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Pankaj Mithal issued stay orders but did not express any opinion on the merits of the case. Expressing concern, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “This was totally out of context. What’s this got to do with the subject matter? That apart, it involves so many other features. This is an infringement of the right to privacy. We don’t want to spell it out. We don’t want to join you on this as to what astronomy has to do. We are only concerned with linking the subject matter to this issue.”
According to astrology, a person born under the influence of Mars (Mangal) is believed to have “Mangal dosh”. Superstitious people consider a marriage between a Manglik and a non-Manglik as inauspicious.
Terming the order as disturbing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the HC should not have gone into this aspect.