Insult To Religious Belief: Allahabad High Court On SP Leader Swami Prasad Maurya Burning Shri Ramcharitmanas

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya's petition in the case of burning copies of the Shri Ramcharitmanas, Amar Ujala reported.

The court said, "Statements from any scripture or document should be read and kept in the correct context. Taking a portion out of context without relevant facts cannot be considered true. Such statements may also be false under certain circumstances."

Maurya's petition had challenged the case registered against him at Pratapgarh Kotwali City and the notice taken by the lower court to it. The court had rejected the petition on 31 October, and the decision was later issued.

The court stated that no part of legal or judicial decisions can be presented without its relevant provisions. In the same way, when any chaupai (quotation) from the Shri Ramcharitmanas is quoted, it should be considered in the context of which character said what in what situation.

The court further stated in the judgment of the single-judge bench of Subhash Vidyarthi that the actions of the petitioner amount to disrespecting Shri Ramcharitmanas, which is considered a sacred text by a large section of society.

"Such actions are regarded as an insult to religious beliefs of a significant section of society," the court said. The judgment also discusses the comments on the meaning of some chaupais (quotation) from the Shri Ramcharitmanas.