Octogenarian moves SC for defining 'religion', plea dismissed

A plea of an octogenarian seeking "religion" be defined as it would bring peace in the country has been suspended by Supreme Court saying that it does not have the expertise to deal with the issue.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea of an octogenarian seeking that "religion" be defined as it would bring peace in the country.

Eighty-seven-year-old Rameshchandra Vithaldas Sheth, who appeared before a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde through video-conferencing, said that there are a number of articles in the Constitution which deal with religion but nowhere it has been defined.

The bench also having Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said that it respects the age of the petitioner but added that courts cannot enter into the domain in which it is not entitled.

During the hearing, Sheth told the bench that if the court defines the word "religion", there will be no communal riots and it will ultimately bring peace in the country.

The CJI asked Sheth why he was raising the issue at this stage.

To this, the octogenarian replied that he has taught about religion to the people for 50 long years and what he has understood is that defining this word would bring peace.

The bench said that it does not have expertise to deal with the issue and it would be better if he makes a representation before the central government.

Sheth said that he has already made the representation but no answer has been received. The bench asked Sheth to withdraw the petition or it would dismiss it.

Sheth replied that it would not like to withdraw the petition, after which the court dismissed it.

"The writ petition is dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, stands disposed of accordingly," the bench said.

PTI Report