Pakistan's court dismisses petition to include Quran in school syllabus
Karachi, Dec 16: A top Pakistani court here on Friday dismissed a petition that sought to make it compulsory the inclusion of the holy Quran with translation in the syllabus of primary to college level education.
The Sindh High Court in its verdict dismissed the petition on the grounds that faith is a personal matter of an individual and the court cannot interfere.
It said no changes can be made to the education syllabus if fundamental rights are violated.
The High court also observed that the Constitution has created a balance among the roles of three pillars of power -- Judiciary, Legislature, and Administration.
The court also noted that Article 20 of the Constitution provides religious freedom to citizens and makes it mandatory for the state not to interfere in the religious matters of individuals.
In its verdict, the court further said that the Constitution of Pakistan gives a guarantee to an individual to exercise his fundamental rights without the government interfering unless he breaks a law.
Advocate Imtiaz Ali, who appeared for the petitioner, argued that the holy Quran education should be made compulsory in the Sindh province as Pakistan was an Islamic state created for Muslims.
Presently students in primary and secondary levels are required to study Islamic studies as a subject but non-Muslims can opt for an optional subject.
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BMTC collects over Rs 19 lakh as fine from those travelling without tickets, occupying ladies seat
Bengaluru (PTI): The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has collected over Rs 19 lakh as a penalty from 10,069 passengers who were penalised for travelling without tickets and occupying seats exclusively reserved for ladies in the last three months, officials said on Thursday.
The checking staff of BMTC have intensified checking of buses operated in and around Bengaluru City to detect ticketless travelling by passengers, they said.
According to BMTC, during the months of August, September and October, the checking staff checked 57,219 trips and penalised 8,891 ticketless passengers by collecting Rs 17,96,030 as penalty and 5,268 cases were booked against conductors for their dereliction of duty.
During the same period, they have also penalised 1,178 male passengers for occupying seats exclusively reserved for lady passengers and imposed fines by collecting Rs 1,17,800 in accordance with the KMV (Karnataka Motor Vehicle) Rules of the MV Act of 1988.
"In total, during the months of August, September and October, 10,069 passengers were penalised and Rs 19,13,830 was collected," the BTMC officials stated.
