The Central Information Commission stated on Saturday that the 1993 Supreme Court order in All India Imam Organisation v. Union of India and ors. allowing remuneration to imams in mosques was in "violation of the Constitution" and, in addition to setting a "wrong precedent," has become a point of superfluous political slugfest and social disharmony.

It should be noted that the Supreme Court in the All India Imam Organisation case directed the State Waqf Boards to pay Imams in mosques managed by them. This observation was made by Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar on Friday (November 25) while hearing an RTI application filed by RTI activist Subhash Agrawal seeking details on salaries paid to imams by the Delhi government and the Delhi Waqf Board. The activist had received no appropriate response from the Delhi Waqf Board to his application.

"Further with regard to the judgment by the Supreme Court in the case between "All India Imam Organisation And ... vs Union Of India And Ors" on 13 May, 1993, that opened the doors to special financial benefits from public treasury to only Imams and muezzins in the mosques, the Commission observes that the highest Court of the country in passing this order acted in violation of the provisions of the Constitution, particularly Article 27, which says that the tax payers money will not be used to favour any particular religion. The Commission notes that the said judgment set a wrong precedent in the country and has become a point of unnecessary political slugfest and also social disharmony in the society," the relevant part of the order of Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar reads thus.

The order also states that paying Imams and others only in mosques amounts to not only betraying the Hindu community and members of other non-Muslim Minority religions, but also encouraging pan-Islamist tendencies among an already visible section of Indian Muslims.

Finally, finding this matter to be of extreme importance for the nation's unity and integrity, as well as interfaith harmony, the Commission directed its registry to forward a copy of the order to the Union Law Minister, along with the Commission's recommendation for appropriate action to ensure the letter and spirit of the provisions of Articles 25 to 28 of the Indian Constitution, and to keep all religions of India on par in terms of payment of monthly remuneration of priests of diaspora.