Delhi HC reserves order on PIL seeking ban on deities' images on walls

The Delhi High Court reserved its order in a plea against the practice of sticking gods' images and posters on walls in order to prevent public urination, spitting, and throwing garbage

The Delhi High Court reserved its order in a plea filed by an advocate against the practice of sticking gods' images and posters on walls in order to prevent public urination, spitting, and throwing garbage.

A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said that it will be passing appropriate orders regarding the plea.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL), moved by advocate Gorang Gupta, alleges that even though people are making use of deities' images as a means to put an end to public urination, it is leading to harming the religious sentiments of people at large.

The PIL also states that public urination and littering seriously denigrates and disparages the sanctity of sacred deity's images.

The petitioner seeks the court's direction to the Delhi government, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Delhi Cantonment Board, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to put a ban on sticking gods' posters on the walls to make the public stop urinating, spitting, or littering garbage.

"The common practice of affixing the photographs of deities on the walls to prevent open public urination, spitting, and throwing garbage has created a serious menace in the society as these photographs do not guarantee the prevention of these acts rather there is no ounce of shame and people publicly urinate or spit or litter on the 'sacred' images of the deities." the plea read.

In view of the above, the petitioner claimed that this very act is violative of sections 295, 295A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 as well as Article 25 of the Constitution of India as it is harming the religious sentiments of the general public at large.

--IANS

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