The Nainital high court of Uttarakhand on 09/Mar/22 heard a petition against “The UP Shri Badrinath & Shri Kedarnath Temples Act, 1939”.
A petition has been filed by Mr. Arvind Kumar of Ramnagar district of Uttarakhand, he has alleged that the British-era act is “Anti Hindu” and requested the court to give directions to cancel the law, which shows the norms defining the management of Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines.
Mr. Arvind Kumar has mentioned in the PIL that the Act violates the freedom of religious expression inducted in Articles 25 and 26 of the constitution. He also added that the govt. should focus on providing convenience at Char Dham shrines, rather to reduce it to a source of income generation. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Mr. Sanjay Kumar Mishra and Justice RC Khulbe, after hearing the PIL, ordered the govt. and other connections related to the case, to respond within 8 weeks.
