Uttaranchal High Court: A Division Bench comprising of Rajiv Sharma, ACJ and Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J., heard a writ petition which was treated as public interest litigation wherein a prayer was made to provide financial assistance to the priests with respect to the hardships faced by them.
The Court took cognizance of a letter addressed by the petitioner, highlighting the financial difficulties faced by the Hindu Priests who performed the Vedic rites and religious ceremonies throughout the State of Uttarakhand. It was stated that they lived a life of penury which disabled them to impart education to their children and, therefore, they prayed for financial assistance and pension from the State Government. The Court pressed upon the fact that though there being a prima facie case, it could not be studied in isolation as similar financial hardships would also be faced by the priests of all the religions including Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, etc.
The Court was of the view that priests assisted the citizens in enjoying the freedom of conscience and to profess, practice and propagate their respective religion and hence the prayer shall be considered. Accordingly, the State Government was directed to apprise the Court on what financial assistance could be rendered to the Hindu Priests, Maulwis, Granthis/Raagis and Christian Priests which enabled them to make both ends meet within the parameters of Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India. The matter is listed on 06-09-2018. [Subhash Joshi v. State of Uttarakhand, WP (PIL) No. 117 of 2018, order dated 29-08-2018]
