Don’t politicise Haj, warns SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday cautioned the Centre against “politicising” the Haj subsidy for Muslims, saying that any such attempt was fraught with serious consequences for the country’s secular fabric.
The court objected to the government linking the Haj pilgrimage with an official delegation to Saudi Arabia, terming it a “bad religious practice” as the Haj was purely a matter of a Muslim’s personal belief and faith.
“What kind of practice is this? Maybe it has political use. It’s a bad religious practice. It’s not really Haj,” a bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai said while dealing with a petition on the Haj air travel subsidy.
The court was hearing an appeal by the Centre against a Bombay high court ruling directing the ministry of external affairs to allow certain private airlines to operate services for Haj, particularly flights for “VIP Hajis”.
The Supreme Court, which stayed the high court verdict on October 10, told attorney-general G.E. Vahanvati that the government should consider a total review of the Haj subsidy policy and should not consider any Haji as a “VIP” as this was against the basic tenets of Islam.
The bench was particularly displeased at the way some officials were planning their pilgrimage at the cost of the national exchequer in the garb of a delegation accompanying the Hajis.
“We will oversee the policy. We will keep the matter pending till then,” the bench said.
The attorney-general said he would convey the court’s views to the government.
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