Maharashtra: Bombay High Court dismisses plea against renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad

The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition against the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government had decided to rename Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.

Mumbai (Maharashtra): The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to rename two cities Aurangabad and Osmanabad.

In 2023, the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government decided to change the names Aurangabad and Osmanabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively. A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyay and Justice Arif Doctor pronounced the verdict.

A petition against the renaming of the cities was filed in the Bombay High Court. The hearing of the plea was completed before the bench comprising the Chief Justice in October 2023, but the High Court had then reserved its decision.

The High Court observed that no one would suffer any loss due to the decision to rename the two cities and the renaming of the two cities was done for administrative purposes. The High Court also observed that the petitioner did not have a right to question the decision taken by the state government.

The petitioner's lawyer Satish Talekar said that an appeal will be filed in the Supreme Court against the decision of the Bombay High Court. Talekar contended that the decision could benefit the ruling parties in Maharashtra - the BJP, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar.