Seema Ramdas Patil and Ors. v. the State of Maharashtra Thr Its Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra and Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Keywords: PIL 16/2026; Bombay High Court Kolhapur Circuit Bench; Madhav J. Jamdar; Pravin S. Patil; Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act 2013; Anti-Superstition Act; Section 11 rules framing; Section 5 Vigilance Officers; sexual exploitation of women under guise of spiritual rituals; Godmen; Ashok Kharat case; BNSS 2023 Section 2(1)(y) definition of victims; Special Courts; Special Human Rights Courts; Victim Protection Protocol; social media video removal; State-wide awareness campaign; Ganpat Devrao Bhise v. State of Maharashtra PIL 01/2019 order dated 18.04.2026 Aurangabad Bench; representation to Secretary Social Justice and Special Assistance Department; decide within eight weeks; liberty to file fresh PIL; Seema Ramdas Patil; Saklen Mujawar; asim Sarode; A.A. Naik AGP.
What did the court decide?
Prayers (A) and (B) treated as worked out per the Court's order dated 18.04.2026 in PIL No.01/2019; leave granted to petitioners to submit representation to Respondent No. 5 (Secretary, Social Justice and Special Assistance Department) to be decided within eight weeks; liberty to file a fresh PIL if grievances remain unaddressed. No explicit closing formula (allowed/dismissed/disposed) is stated for this PIL.