The Supreme Court on Monday reduced substantially the government’s 'discretionary and dignitaries' quota among Haj pilgrims. It has slashed the 2012 Haj quota from the proposed 5,050 to 300
seats.
The order came after Supreme Court’s May judgement in which it had recommended the 'phasing out' of the subsidy for the Haj.
Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai, which had given the verdict on phasing out the subsidy on May 8, fixed the quota of 100 passengers for the President, 75 each to the Vice-President and Prime Minister and 50 for external affairs minister.
The apex court directed that the remaining quota proposed by the Centre be quashed and those seats for air travel be shifted to the general pool.
The proposal of 5,050 quota seats for VIPs was presented by the Centre in an affidavit with details how it should be divided among states, which also included quota for Chief Ministers.
However, the court said that the Haj committee could also recommend the names of 200 pilgrims for subsidised travel to Mecca and Medina.
The government though had proposed 11,000 total seats to be recommended by government agencies, including the state governments, but 5,050 were to be kept in “discretionary” category.
Though the Saudi Arabia every year fixes the number of Haj pilgrims, its authorities have permitted 1.25 lakh Indian pilgrims.