“Karnataka is a secular State” : Karnataka HC

Karnataka High Court’s Statement Dismissing Petition Opposing Banu Mushtaq’s Inauguration of Mysuru Dasara Festival

Bengaluru (Karnataka) – On 15th September, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the petition filed against the state government’s decision to invite Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq as the chief guest for the inauguration of the Dasara festival in Mysuru. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M. Joshi, stated during the hearing that Karnataka is a secular state and the event is a public celebration, not a religious ritual. If an individual is willing to participate while following religious customs, there is nothing wrong with that. The court further remarked that it is unwilling to accept that allowing a person from another religion to participate in a state-organised event violates any legal or constitutional rights of the petitioners or goes against the values enshrined in the Constitution of India. Therefore, the court dismissed the petition.

In this case, two petitions were filed, one of which was by former BJP MP Pratap Simha. The petitions alleged that Banu Mushtaq had made statements about the Kannada language and, since Dasara is primarily a Hindu festival, no non-Hindu should be invited for the inauguration.

One of the petitioners, advocate S. Sudarshan, argued that only a person who believes in Hinduism and has faith in Goddess Chamundeshwari should be invited. According to the Agama scriptures, it is not appropriate for a non-Hindu to perform the worship.

It is a state festival ! – State Government

Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, arguing on behalf of the state government, stated that people from all religions participate in this event. This is a state festival and cannot be limited to a purely religious ceremony. In 2017, Dr. Nisar Ahmed was invited, and at that time, petitioner Pratap Simha had participated in the event.