JOIN USThe High Court has directed the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi and the Union Government to file a counter affidavit within six weeks in response to a petition urging that Konkani writings in Kannada script be considered for the awards.
The petitioners, Konkani writers Eric Ozario, Marcel M Dsouza and Valernian D’souza seeking directions to the Union government to consider the use of Kannada script in Konkani literature, said that despite several representations to the Akademi, it has been postponing the matter. Hence, it called for a national debate.
They pointed out that Konkani writers use five scripts in their literature, while the Akademi considered Devanagari script alone for the award.
Moreover, the petitioners sought directions to the Union government to set up an advisory board to address the issue.
Plea to worship idol
The High Court has directed the State government to consider the prayer of the Jain community to allow them to worship the centuries-old Jain Tirthankara idol, found in Hangal taluk of Haveri district.
Hearing a petition by G S Deshpande and others, seeking permission to worship the 12th century Jain Tirthankara Parshwanath idol found in 2008, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna questioned why the permission was not granted. “Explore some ways to resolve the issue,” the Chief Justice said.