Can't issue order to regulate godmen, astrologers: Court

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court Tuesday refused to direct the government to regulate godmen and astrologers through an official mechanism.

The bench of Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza and Justice D.K. Upadhyaya said there were already certain provisions like the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act available to act against fraudsters.

The judges agreed with many of the facts presented by the petitioners, Indian Police Service officer Amitabh Thakur and social activist Nutan Thakur, in their public interest litigation.

They said that beyond the existing legal remedies, the court was not competent to formulate new guidelines to regulate godmen and astrologers "because the matter lay in the realm of legislature".

The petition said that India had a very large number of astrologers and godmen who claimed to possess supernatural powers and cheated people of their money.

The petitioners sought the formation of two separate professional bodies at the national and regional levels to keep a check on astrologers and godmen allegedly indulging in wrongdoing.