It is an insult to God to have unauthorised religious structures on roads and pavements, obstructing public space, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday. The court pulled up States for not curbing encroachment of public space in the name of religion despite several orders since 2006.
A Bench, led by Justice V. Gopala Gowda, reached the brink of issuing summons to the Chief Secretaries to initiate contempt proceedings but was dissuaded by a panel of lawyers representing various States. They assured the court of immediate action and agreed to file status reports.
The Bench told the States to “demolish these structures.” “God never intended to obstruct public way and this is an insult to God,” the Bench, also comprising Arun Mishra, observed. Noting that its orders were not meant to be kept in the freezer, the court gave the States a deadline of two weeks to file affidavits detailing the steps taken to curb construction of these unauthorised structures, failing which the Chief Secretaries would be summoned. “If you have no respect for court orders, we will deal with the States,” the Bench said.
