On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that sought directions to address the growing practice of granting preferential treatment to 'VIPs' during visits to temples across India.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, expressed its view that preferential treatment should not be extended to 'VIPs'. However, the Court stated that it could not issue directions on the matter.
"We will not entertain. While [we] maybe of the opinion that no special preference should be given, this court cannot issue directions under Article 32," the Court said.
However, the Court clarified that the concerned authorities were not precluded from taking any action on the issue.
The petition before the Court challenged the practice of VIP and paid darshans at religious sites. Notably, the petitioner's counsel also cited incidents of stampedes occurring at such locations.
"Preferential entries are being given and this also created stampedes. Constitution imposed duty on States to remove inequality," it was submitted.
However, the Court declined to entertain the plea.
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