'Not persuaded to accept': Karnataka High Court dismisses petitions challenging Banu Mushtaq inaugurating Dasara festival

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed three public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the decision of the State Government to invite Booker prize winner Banu Mushtaq as the Chief Guest for the inauguration of the upcoming Dasara Festival in Mysuru. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Joshi refused to entertain the petitions.

“We are not persuaded to accept that a person from a different faith inaugurating a function organized by the state would violate a legal or constitutional right of the petitioners or any values enshrined in the constitution. The petitions dismissed,” the bench said while indicating that a detailed order will be passed later.

The petitions were filed by former BJP MP Prathap Simha, T Girish Kumar and HS Gaurav, both residents of Bengaluru. The petitioners primarily contended that Banu Mushtaq had made ‘anti-Hindu’ and ‘anti-Kannada’ statements at a literary event held in 2023. The petitioners said the Dasara festivities commences with the worshipping of the goddess Chamundeshwari. The counsel for the BJP MP claimed that Banu Mushtaq was invited without even consulting the representatives of the Mysuru royal family.

According to the petitioners, in her speech at the literary event Banu Mushtaq 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 Banu Mushtaq does not have any faith in worshipping a Hindu goddess, the advocate said, adding that the petitioner had no objection to invite her if she withdrew those ‘anti-Hindu and anti-Kannada’ statements.

The petitioners submitted that the decision of the state government was a violation of Article 25 (guarantees the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion) and Article 26 (guarantees every religious denomination the freedom to manage its religious affairs) of the constitution.

On the other hand, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty said that Pratap Simha, as MP as he was then, had shared the stage with literateur Nisar Ahmed when the latter inaugurated the festivities as the Chief Guest and that this fact has not been disclosed in the petition. According to the AG, Dasara is a secular function, and reducing it to a religious event is a myopic view.

He further stated that the selection of the invitees is done by a committee comprising all stakeholders, including the local people representatives. It is the worst kind of offence to bring in a Hindu-Muslim divide in such matters and such attempts should be nipped in the bud, the AG further requested the court to dismiss the petitions by imposing heavy costs on the petitioners requesting the court to impose cost on the petitioners.