'We'll never entertain a petition which takes us 100 years back'
Karnataka High Court Dismisses Pleas To Stop Non-Hindus From Working In Offices Under HRICE Act
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The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed writ petitions which sought for directions that non-Hindus should not be permitted to work in the office of Commissioners under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act(HRICE Act).
"The Hindu religion was never so narrow. Hindu religion as professed never consisted of people who are so narrow minded," observed a bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay S Oka.
The petitions sought strict implementation of Section 7 of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, thereby, seeking that no person who is not professing Hindu religion be permitted to work in the office of Commissioner appointed under the said Act.
One of the petitions was filed by N P Amruthesh, questioning the printing of the name of A B Ibrahim, who was working as deputy commissioner with the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department, Mangaluru, on the invitation card of the annual festival organized by the Mahalingeswara Temple.
The second petition filed by Bharata Punarutthana Trust objected to the appointment of Mohamad Deshav Alikhan as Superintendent in the office of the Commissioner under the Act.
A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty was surprised on reading the prayer in the petition filed by Amruthesh, which sought directions to restrain the deputy commissioner from entering the temple.
It orally observed:
"What heavens are going to fall if respondent 4 being the Deputy Commissioner, for overlooking the arrangements will enter the temple. Hindu religion was never so narrow. Hindu religion as professed never consisted of people who are so narrow minded."
The court added:
"There are instances, go all over the country, where in big Hindu festivals, the government officers who do not profess Hindu religion have actively assisted the administration".
Taking a strong objection on maintainability of the petitions as Public Interest Litigations, Chief Justice Oka said :
"After the Constitution has come into force, we will never entertain such petitions in the court. There is something known as the Constitution, there is something known as Constitutional philosophy.We will not entertain a petition which will take us 100 years back."
In its order the bench referred to section 7 of the Act, which reads thus:
Section 7: Commissioner, etc. to be Hindu.- The Commissioner and every Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner and every other Officer or servant, appointed to carry out the purposes of this Act by whomsoever appointed, shall be a person professing Hindu Religion, and shall cease to hold office as such when he ceases to profess that religion.
The bench said:
"On plain reading of section 7, there is no general prohibition on appointing an officer or servant to work in the offices of commissioner, deputy commissioner or assistant commissioner. The restriction imposed by section 7 is that Commissioner, Dy Commissioner, Asst Commissioner and every officer or servant appointed to carry out purposes of the said act of 1997, shall be a person professing Hindu religion. The test for applicability is that the officer or servant is appointed to carry out the purpose of the Act."
The court gave two illustrations to drive its point further.
A computer programmer or data entry operator may be appointed to the office of commissioner to create computer programs or data entry in the office of commissioner. It cannot be said that such a data entry operator or programmer has been appointed to carry out the purpose of the act.
Another example it cited was that if a group D employee is appointed to clean the offices of Commissioner, it cannot be said that such a servant is appointed to carry out the purposes of the Act.
Accordingly it noted: "Therefore to decide whether the prohibition under Section 7 is applicable, it is necessary to consider the nature of duties assigned to the officer concerned."
Before concluding the bench noted that:
"Judicial notice will have to be taken of the fact that government officers, police officers, irrespective of their religious faith and beliefs effectively assist all religions in celebrating their respective religious festivals. In fact that is part of the Constitutional philosophy and concept of Secularism."
The bench thus refused to grant any relief and dismissed the petitions.
Courtesy: www.livelaw.in
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Commercial LPG hike: Delhi restaurant owners warn of higher menu rates, job losses
New Delhi (PTI) A day after a 50 per cent rise in commercial LPG cylinder prices, Delhi's food business, with restaurant owners and street vendors have warned of higher menu rates, financial strain and potential job losses if the trend persists.
The price of commercial LPG was hiked by a steep Rs 993 per 19 kg cylinder, marking the third consecutive monthly hike amid rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.
For many in the restaurant industry, the spike has been both sudden and steep.
Manpreet Singh, honorary treasurer of the National Restaurant Association of India, said that eateries are already grappling with supply challenges alongside rising costs.
"There is a huge difficulty in getting these cylinders, and black marketing is also increasing in many unregulated sectors," he said, noting that prices that were once around Rs 1,600, often dropping to nearly Rs 1,300 with discounts, have now surged to between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 per cylinder.
He further added that a medium-sized restaurant typically uses between two and five cylinders daily, making the increase particularly burdensome as costs mount.
Singh further said that as costs mount, smaller establishments could struggle to stay afloat. Instead, the association has advised restaurants to shift towards piped natural gas connections through Indraprastha Gas Limited as a more sustainable alternative.
"If this problem continues, PNG is the only long-term solution," he said, adding that temporary measures like coal offer limited relief due to slower cooking times and that it can largely be used only for tandoors.
Echoing similar concerns, Kabir Suri, owner of Mamagoto in Khan Market, said the impact is already visible across the industry. "There has been almost a threefold increase in cylinder prices for restaurants," he said, adding that rising fuel and logistics costs are compounding the pressure.
"If this continues, it will become a significant financial burden, and food prices will inevitably go up. Adding to this burden, higher fuel costs are also affecting logistics and transportation, making a price rise unavoidable. The extent of the impact will vary between small eateries and large chains depending on their scale," he said.
Global oil prices have surged nearly 50 per cent following disruptions in energy supply chains due to the West Asia conflict, pushing up commercial fuel costs and transport expenses.
A West Delhi-based restaurateur said they are trying to manage rising costs while keeping their staff secure. "We are trying to ensure that our staff, from kitchen workers to waiters, are paid on time and do not face immediate hardship," the owner said.
"We are a small restaurant with seating for about 20 to 25 people at a time. But if this continues for long, we will have to take difficult calls. There is only so much we can absorb, and menu prices will have to go up. We hope this does not continue for a longer period," he said.
Another restaurant owner in North Delhi, who did not wish to be named, said operational adjustments alone may not be enough. "We are checking our costs very carefully and trying to cut wherever possible, but if fuel prices remain high, it will eventually affect how we run the business," the owner said.
"Coal helps in tandoor cooking, but it takes more time," the owner further added.
The strain is even more acute among street vendors, many of whom operate on thin margins. A vendor in Saket said he had recently expanded his business, moving from a mobile cart to a rented outlet.
"I have a family to feed and more responsibilities now. Earlier, I managed with a moving cart, but after renting the place, expenses increased," he said. "Whenever cylinders were unavailable, I had to buy them at higher rates in the black market. Now even regular supply is too expensive, and if this continues, we may have to shut down," he added.
In Laxmi Nagar, another vendor said they are struggling to keep the business running. "Sometimes we even used domestic cylinders from home when supply ran out because we had to keep the stall running," he said, adding that rising costs leave little choice but to increase prices or bear losses.
On April 1, the rates of commercial LPG cylinders were hiked by Rs 195.50 per cylinder, followed by a Rs 114.5 hike on March 1, taking the total increase over the past three months to Rs 1,303. With the latest revision, a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder now costs Rs 3,371.5 in Delhi, up from Rs 2,078.5 earlier.
The prices of domestic LPG cylinders used for household cooking have remained unchanged. They were last increased by Rs 60 per 14.2 kg cylinder on March 7 and currently cost Rs 913 in Delhi.
