Disposed

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India & Ors.

Delhi HC26 Sept 2024W.P.(C)/14587/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Public interest petition sought directions to Central and State Governments to define 'religion' in official documents as Panth or Sampradaya rather than Dharma, and to add a chapter on Dharma and Religion in school curriculum. The Court held this would require it to act as a theological authority beyond its constitutional mandate and disposed of the petition by directing the Ministry of Education

What the court decided

AI extract

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay Vs Union of India & Ors. — Education and Admissions | Delhi HC (2024)

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$~56

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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+ W.P.(C) 14587/2023
ASHWINI KUMAR UPADH Through:	YAY .....Petitioner Petitioner in person
versus
UNION OF INDIA & ORS	.....Respondents
Through:	Mr. Chetan Sharma, ASG and Mr.
	Apoorv Kurup, GGSC with Mr.
	Saurabh Tripathi, Mr. Amit Gupta,
	Mr. Shubham Sharma, Mr. Akhil
	Hasija, Ms. Nidhi Mittal, Ms. Gauri
	Goburdhan and Mr. Vikramaditya Singh, Advocates for UOI.
	Mr. Puneet Rai, Mr. Ashvini Kumar and Mr. Rishabh Nangia, Advocates for R-2/Income Tax Dept.
	Ms. Mehak Nakra, ASC (Civil)
	GNCTD with Ms. Gunjan Suyal and
	Ms Anjali Pandey, Advocates for R-5.

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CORAM:

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HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TUSHAR RAO GEDELA

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O R D E R 26.09.2024

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Present public interest petition has been filed seeking a direction to Central and State Governments to use the proper meaning of “religion”, i.e., Panth or Sampradaya and not Dharma in official documents such as Birth Certificate, Aadhar Card, School Certificate, Ration Card, Driving Licence, Domicile Certificate, Death Certificate and Bank Account. The petitioner

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This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 03/07/2025 at 09:08:30

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further seeks a direction to the Central and State governments to include a chapter on “ Dharma and Religion” in school curriculum.

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This Court finds that the petitioner essentially expects this Court to carry out an exercise in semantics and assume the role of a theological and philosophical authority to determine the difference between Dharma , Religion or Sampradaya , which is well beyond the Constitutional mandate of this Court. The language, its usage and meaning are products of an organic evolution of society and they cannot be dictated by Courts, except when the same is obscene or contrary to the spirit and letter of the law.

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Consequently, the present writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the Ministry of Education and Culture to treat the writ petition as a representation and to decide the same in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible.

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The rights and contentions of all the parties are left open.

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ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE

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TUSHAR RAO GEDELA, J

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SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 Aj

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 03/07/2025 at 09:08:30

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What the court decided

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India & Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What the court decided

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