The Bombay High Court on Monday permitted Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh to convert his petition against the Maharashtra government's decision to set up an inter-faith marriage coordination committee into a public interest litigation (PIL).

A Division Bench of Justices G.S. Patel and Neela Gokhale was hearing a plea filed by the SP MLA Rais Shaikh, challenging the Government Resolution (GR) dated December 13, 2022, that established the committee, calling it illegal and urging the court to quash it.

“Other than the name and address of the petitioner, there is no statement of fact about the petitioner. The petitioner is not concerned with the subject matter. He may have public interest but then it is open to him to take it up in an appropriate manner,'' the bench said.

The judges wondered how the petition was circulated in the media even before it could be taken up by the high court.

“How is it that, even before we have seen this petition, every media person has seen it? If you want to test this in the media forum, then don't waste our time. Every media forum has seen this. If you want them to decide, we couldn't care less,'' Justice Patel said.

The Inter-Faith Marriage Family Coordination Committee comprising nearly 13 members is to be headed by BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who has been in the news for his statements on Hindus facing threats in a Muslim-dominated area of Mumbai.

The Committee will obtain information from registrars on the number of registered marriages of couples under the Special Marriage Act or inter-faith marriages, as also from places of worship where such marriages have taken place.

It seeks to get in touch with the women in such marriages to know whether their families have accepted the marriage. With this information, the Committee will communicate with the families of such women and hold counselling sessions for them to accept the marriage.

Shaikh alleged that the government resolution (GR) was an attempt by the State to discourage and forbid inter-faith marriages, and is a pre-cursor to laws related to alleged 'Love Jihad' marriages.

Shaikh had filed a petition earlier this month stating the committee was violative of articles 14 (right to equality), 15 (forbidding discrimination), 21 (right to life which includes the right to privacy), and 25 (right to freedom of religion) of the Constitution.

In the plea filed through advocate Jeet Gandhi, the MLA requested that the state government be directed to withdraw the said GR and declare that the same is in violation of the provisions of the Special Marriage Act.

Image source: Bar and Bench