Supreme Court junks plea challenging Karnataka govt's invite to Banu Mushtaq for Mysuru Dasara inaugural

The petition was filed by H S Gaurav, challenging the Karnataka High Court's order of September 15, 2025, rejecting the plea against the decision of the Siddaramaiah government.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court's decision upholding the state government's invite to Booker prize winner Banu Mushtaq as chief guest for inauguration of the upcoming Mysuru Dasara festival.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta declined to consider the plea filed by Bengaluru resident H S Gaurav against the High Court's September 15 judgment, saying it is a State event and the State can't distinguish between A, B and C.

"What is the purpose of filing this plea," the bench asked senior advocate P B Suresh, appearing for H S Gaurav.

He said it affected his rights under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The court questioned the counsel as to what the Preamble of the Constitution is.

He said it is secular but the religious activities cannot be interfered with.

The bench dismissed the petition, saying, "This is a state programme...how can state distinguish between A, B And C."

The counsel contended that the right under Article 25 of the Constitution would be violated as the programme not just comprised of inauguration but performing Puja as well.

He submitted that the puja inside the temple was not a secular activity. It is part of the ceremony. It is a purely political decision, there was no reason they should be brought inside the temple for religious activity.

The counsel further sought to highlight statements made by Banu Mushtaq, which he claimed was against the religion. "You can't invite such people, inauguration was not a problem, see what, she has said," the senior advocate said.

The court, however, rejected the plea.

The Karnataka High Court had on September 15, 2025 rejected the plea against the decision of the Siddaramaiah government.

The plea contended that the involvement of a non-Hindu in rituals such as deepa lighting, puja, and pushparchane at the Chamundeshwari Temple infringed upon Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, hurt Hindu sentiments, and threatened the religious sanctity of the event.

"Mushtaq, belonged to the Muslim community and was therefore a non-Hindu. As such, she cannot perform rituals before the deity, which is against established Hindu religious and ceremonial practices," it said.

The plea said the inauguration by a non- Hindu is against the basic rules of Agama Shastra and the Agama rules, a part of Hindu religious faith and any departure of the traditional rules of worship would result in the disturbance of purity of the ceremony and the divine spirit of the deity and the belief system of the entire Hindu community.

The petitioners claimed, Mushtaq, in her speech at the literary event had said that the state had kept her away from Kannada by giving the status of goddess (Bhuvaneshwari) to Kannada language. This is a clear indication that she does not have any faith in worshipping a Hindu goddess.