Petition against cultural event dismissed

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition filed by advocate Asok Pande seeking inquiry into the rendition of Sufi songs during the cultural night organised in the new building of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court on April 14.

The cultural night was organised as part of the ceremony organised on April 14 to mark completion of 150 years of Allahabad high court.

The bench of chief justice Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud and justice Rajan Roy on April 19 also initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Pande, directing him to present his reply within three weeks.

The court also passed an order directing that any public interest litigation filed by Pande in future must be accompanied with a bank draft of `25,000 which would be returned if the petition was found to raise an issue of genuine public interest.

However, in the event the petition was found to be frivolous or an abuse of the process, the amount would not be returned.

In his petition, Pande had stated that on April 14, just before Ram Navmi, at the cultural night organised in the new building of the high court, Sufi singers repeatedly sang praises of a particular religion.

The petitioner had also stated that the dinner after the cultural night had non-vegetarian food along with food for people fasting on Navaratra, which was against the religious practices of a particular community.

However, the bench observed, “We also find no merit in the grievance that non-vegetarian food was stored in the hall on the evening of April 14. As a matter of fact, the dinner which was held on April 14 was an event at which only vegetarian food was served to the members of the Bar, employees, judges of this court as well as former judges who were invited to participate in the event. The contention that non-vegetarian food had been served is, thus, nothing but a desperate attempt to disturb the tranquility and functioning of the court.”