BENGALURU: All steps to be taken further by the state government on the Karnataka Veerashaiva-Lingayat Development Corporation will be subject to the orders of this court, the Karnataka High Court said on Monday. A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty issued notice to the Backward Classes Welfare Department on a public interest litigation questioning the establishment of the corporation.
It declined to pass an interim order sought by the petitioner, advocate S Basavaraj, to restrain the government from transferring funds of Rs 500 crore to the corporation as it is yet to be registered under Section 7 of the Companies Act.However, the bench said, “It is not known whether the corporation exists. As of today, the company has not been registered. Therefore, we have not considered the interim prayer.”
This was after the petitioner expressed apprehension of the state government transferring funds to the corporation that was constituted ‘without any statutory basis’ on November 23. Arguing that constituting the corporation based on caste is unconstitutional as it violates the secular fabric of the Constitution, the petitioner contended that its establishment would amount to destroying the very foundation of the secular philosophy of the 12th century social reformer Basavanna.
The petitioner argued that the Veerashaiva Lingayats constitute 17 per cent of the total population in the state. The attempts to woo this segment for political mileage by announcing a few measures have been made in the past. Now, this government has given it a concrete shape by setting up this corporation, he said.
Granting relief will take us back 100 yrs: Court
Several government officials and police officers who do not profess Hindu religion are assisting in organising religious festivities of all religions in the country, the Karnataka High Court observed on Monday. A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty made this observation while disposing of two public interest litigations questioning the appointment of A B Ibrahim, the then Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada as Administrator of Shri Mahalingeshwara temple and Mohammed Deshav Alikhan as Superintendent to the office of the Commissioner of Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments.
The bench orally said, “It will send wrong signals and take us to 100 years back if we entertain these petitions.” Looking into the secularism part of the Constitution, no relief can be granted, the bench added. Advocate N P Amrutesh filed a PIL in 2016 questioning the appointment of Ibrahim while Bharata Punarutthan Trust filed a PIL in 2018 challenging the appointment of Alikhan, on the ground that these appointments are against Section 7 of the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act.