The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain the Public Interest Litigation seeking reconstruction of religious structures demolished during the Telangana Secretariat demolition. The petition filed on August 7 is about two mosques and one temple within the Secretariat premises that were damaged during the demolition.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan on Monday stated that a hearing for the petition cannot be granted under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution. Article 32 deals with the right to individuals to move to the Supreme Court to seek justice when they feel that their fundamental right has been 'unduly deprived’. The bench also questioned the petitioner, Advocate Khaja Aijazuddin, a practising Advocate from Telangana, if he had first approached the Telangana High Court with the PIL. The petitioner has withdrawn the case, reported Bar and Bench.
Supreme Court declines to entertain PIL seeking reconstruction of religious structures demolished during the demolition of #Telangana Secretariat.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) August 24, 2020
SC says that the prayer sought in the PIL cannot be granted under Article 32.#SupremeCourt pic.twitter.com/BXwmycZdrJ
The present plea is only related to the religious structures within the Secretariat premises and not the demolition itself. The petition stated that the demolition of the religious structures amounted to the deprivation of fundamental rights of citizens under Article 14, 21, 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution.
The Telangana government on July 7 carried out a midnight demolition of the Secretariat which was challenged in the Telangana High Court on July 9. After a brief stay, the Telangana High Court gave consent for the Secretariat demolition. The state government has been asked to submit environmental impact assessment reports to the court before beginning construction of the new building. The Supreme Court had dismissed petitions calling for a stay of the Secretariat demolition and construction. The state government in the meantime unveiled models for a Rs 400 crore Secretariat, the project design is yet to be finalised.
The dismissed petition called for the rebuilding of the religious structures by the state government as they are statutorily bound to protect religious places. The petitioner states that the new Secretariat plans of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government do not include a temple nor a mosque.