Dawoodi Bohra community case: SC to decide on referring to larger bench

A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on whether the plea against the practice of excommunication in the Dawoodi Bohra community needs to be referred to a larger benchThe fivejudge Constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said it will consider whether to refer the issue to a ninejudge benchThe bench also comprising Justices Abhay S Oka Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari heard the parties in the case who urged the court to wait for a ninejudge bench decision in the Sabarimala matter or refer the present case also to a ninejudge benchThe ninejudge bench is seized of the Sabarimala case with respect to the entry of women into the Sabarimala hill shrine in Kerala It is also considering three other cases involving womens rights with regard to religious practicesDuring the hearing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Maharashtra told the bench that this case should be tagged along with the Sabrimala case before the ninejudge benchHe further said that reconsideration of the 1962 judgment which was also rendered by five judges may not be possible by a bench of the same strengthSenior advocate Fali Nariman appearing for one of the parties in the case submitted that the matter should be deferred till the ninejudge bench gives its verdictThe top court then reserved its verdictOn the last date of the hearing the bench had decided to examine whether the practice of excommunication in the community can continue as a protected practice despite the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott Prevention Prohibition and Redressal Act of 2016 have already come into forceAlso Read Palghar lynching case Maharashtra govt ready to transfer case to CBI tell SCNariman had said that the questions posed in the case have become moot with the enforcement of the 2016 Act which has repealed the Bombay Prevention of Excommunication Act of 1949The 2016 Act provides a remedy to all victims of social boycotts A complaint can be lodged with the nearest Magistrate in case of apprehension of a social boycott by a religious body If any member of a community is subject to ostracisation please file a complaint Excommunication is not legally feasible now Nariman had saidSenior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal appearing for the petitioners however had said that a general law on social boycott may not protect the Bohra community members facing excommunicationAggarwal had said that the 2016 Act was a Maharashtra law and the practice may not be confined to MaharashtraThe Constitution bench was hearing a case filed by the Central Board of Dawoodi Bohra Community in 1986 to reconsider and overrule the 1962 judgment of another fivejudge benchThe 1962 judgment came on a challenge by Syedna Taher Saifuddin the head of Dawoodi Bohra Community to the Bombay Prevention of Excommunication Act 1949 on the ground that the provisions of the Act infringe Articles 25 and 26 of the ConstitutionSyednas contention was that the Act infringed upon his constitutional freedom of religion by curtailing his right as the religious head to discipline the community by casting out errant membersThe 60yearold verdict of the Supreme Court had regarded excommunication as a legitimate practice of a community that had to be protected under Article 26 of the Constitution which grants individuals the freedom to manage religious affairsThe Supreme Court had concluded that the 1949 Act was unconstitutionalIn 1949 in what was then Bombay Province that included the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat the State government had passed the Bombay Prevention of Excommunication Act 1949 with the objective to protect the civil social and religious rights of those excommunicated by their own communitiesIn 2016 the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed the Act identifying 16 types of social ostracisation and made them illegal punishing the perpetrators with imprisonment for upto three years One among the 16 deals with the expulsion of a member of a communityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever