Renaming Of Aurangabad To Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar: Supreme Court Junks Plea, Says Issue In Democratic Realm Of Govt

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (5 April) said that it is for a democratically elected government to decide on changing the names of places.

Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, presiding over a two-judge bench reportedly said that matters concerning renaming of roads and places lie within the democratic realm of the government.

He said that it is not for the courts to make changes in the name of a road or a place, and added that it is the elected executive that has the power to decide on such matters.

“Whether we like it or not, these (matters) lie in the democratic realm of the government. Who are we to change the name of a road or a place? It is for the elected executive to decide,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The observation was made during the hearing of a plea challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to rename Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

Maharashtra’s Aurangabad city and Osmanabad are proposed to be renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharasiv respectively by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led state government.

Aurangabad derives its name from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while Osmanabad was named after a twentieth-century ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad.

The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala, refused to entertain the plea as a similar petition is already pending before the Bombay High Court.

“The Bombay High Court is currently seized of the proceedings which now stands to April 24. We are not inclined to entertain this special leave petition," the SC bench pronounced, reports Livelaw.