SURYA NARAYAN CHOUDHARY Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It is tragic that on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti we are debating a Harijans' right to enter a public temple for worship as an equal; and directions of the court be needed for enforcement of this right to equality. All men are born equal and the classification between them thereafter is man made and artificial against the divine dictate. To present them as unequals before God is, therefore, injustice and an insult to our Maker besides being contrary to the guarantee and mandate of equality in our Constitution and a basic human right. To name them 'Harijans' and then discriminate them for entry into a public temple to worship 'Hari' is not merely violation of a constitutional guarantee or insult to them but sheer hypocrisy and insult to 'Hari' rendering their name a misnomer. This is the unfortunate scope of these petitions.

(2.) Both these petitions have been filed in public interest and are for ventilating the same grievance. Both petitioners are practising Advocates who have tried to highlight the hostile discrimination practised against the Harijans in the matter of entry into the public temple of Shri Shrinathji at Nathdwara. The prayer made is for suitable directions to the State Government for ensuring discontinuance of this discrimination of the Harijans and strict against the offenders.

(3.) Shri Surya Narayan Choudhary (petitioner in writ petition No. 1925/37) appeared in person in his writ petition and also on behalf of the petitioner in the other writ petition. After mentioning the discrimination practised against Harijans he stated that on Gandhi Jayanti, Oct. 2, 1988 he with Swami Ahnivesh plan to visit the Nathdwara temple for worship along with a batch of Harijans. He prayed for suitable directions to the Government to ensure that the entry to Harijans in the temple is not denied by imposing any discriminatory conditions which are not applied to the caste Hindus. He referred to a news item (Ex. 7) which reports an interview of Rakesh Baba son of Tilkait of the Nathdwara Temple for showing the discriminatory treatment of the Harijans. According to this news item the Harijans are permitted to enter the temple only after being purified by requiring them to wear 'Kanthimala' and sprinkling them with 'Gangajal' (Ganges water) and giving them 'tulsidal'. Shri Choudhary contended that this practice of purification of the Harijans prior to entry in the temple amounts to practising untouchability and is also discriminatory. Shri Choudhary expressed regret and shared the blame for not stopping this discrimination when he was a Minister in this state about a decade back.