The Supreme Court has overturned the Karnataka HC order allowing Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebration at a Bengaluru public ground which the Muslim Waqf Board claims is an ‘Idgah maidan’ owned by it. BBMP, however, says that the land belongs to the Revenue department.

Ordering ‘status quo’, the SC bench of Justice Indira Banerjee, Justice Abhay Oka and Justice MM Sundresh dismissively told the Karnataka govt and Hindu group Chamarajpet Okoota Samiti to hold the Ganesh Puja ‘at some other place’.

The SC was hearing petitions by Waqf Board and others challenging the Karnataka High Court’s verdict permitting the use of the ground located at the heart of Bengaluru for Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations. In July, Bengaluru citizens had organized protest rallies to ensure that the land is not usurped by the Waqf Board, as it has traditionally been a playground through the year apart from hosting annual Eid (Eid-ul-Fitr and Bakrid) prayers.

This year, the national flag was hoisted at the maidan after great struggle, when a court ruled that the site can be used for Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations. The Karnataka government had then allowed two-day celebrations on Ganesha Chaturthi, which falls on August 31, at the maidan.

In its order, the Supreme Court asked petitioners to approach the High Court over the dispute of who owns the land.

Representing the Waqf Board, senior Lutyens’ advocates Kapil Sibal and Dushyant Dave claimed that the ground has been a Waqf property for a long time, adding that Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution expressly protect the right of religious minorities to possess their properties.

Note: this same right is not extended to the ‘majority’ Hindus in the ‘secular’ Republic of India. Hindu temples and charitable endowments are routinely grabbed by the state, their revenues milked for ‘secular’ causes, pujaris and archakas paid pittances, if that, and devotees treated with apathy.

Dushyan Dave reminded the court of the absolute authority granted by the Waqf Act of 1955 passed during Nehru’s time: “Waqf Act 1995 overrides every other law. It is a non-obstante law and state is deluded from dealing with all waqf properties….The law as it stands today says that there is No legislative power over waqf.”

So while Waqf Board in India can technically evict any Hindu living on property the Waqf claims for itself, Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh watch helplessly as their temple and private lands are ruthlessly encroached each day by state via ‘Enemy Property Acts’ or just brazen land-grabbing by Islamists.

Nothing warms the hearts of Lutyens’ intelligentsia more than rubbing Hindus noses further into the dirt.

Appearing for the Karnataka government, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that from last 200 years, this land has been used as playground by children and all revenue records correspond with state. Rohatgi said that since neither the Bengaluru civic body nor the Waqf can prove ownership, the land belongs to the state. “One should be broad-minded…what is going to happen if Ganesha Chaturthi is allowed for two days,” he submitted to the court. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked the Supreme Court to allow Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations for two days under government supervision, and said that after that, the land will be vacated. But even this small concession was not acceptable to the viciously anti-Hindu lawyer duo of Sibal and Dave, who are at the forefront of representing almost every anti-Hindu cause such as the RJB case, Athira/Hadiya grooming jihad etc.

Sibal and Dave are master manipulators of the judiciary and use a plethora of tactics ranging from throwing tantrums, hectoring, bullying and coaxing judges to get the judgements they desire. This Lutyens’ lawyer lobby – other notable names are Rajeev Dhawan, Prashant Bhushan, Indira Jaising, Vrinda Grover, Colin Gonsalves – and their secular-Islamist counterparts treat the judiciary with barely disguised contempt and get away with all sort of slander and abuse of judges. If a CJI refuses to bend before all their diktats, they can even engineer impeachment motions.

Earlier, a two-judge SC bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia had begun hearing the petitions, but the bench said that it is referring the case to the Chief Justice of India, as there was a difference of opinion between the two judges. The case was then mentioned before Chief Justice of India UU Lalit, who then set up a three-judge bench to hear the same.

The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the Karnataka Waqf Board challenging the order of a division bench of the Karnataka High Court which on August 26 permitted the Karnataka government to decide whether to hold the festival celebrations on the ground.  

This is how India’s Nehruvian Secularism/Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb/composite culture works on the ground – it’s one-way traffic. All the concessions and shows of goodwill are extracted from Hindus.

Last heard, this judgement by SC has now emboldened Islamists in other parts of Karnataka to restrict Ganesh Chaturthi festivals in their towns too. “Anjuman Islam Trust moves Karnataka High Court against Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in Hubbali Idgah Maidan. Cites today’s SC order about Bengaluru Idgah Maidan. Urgent hearing in the High Court at 10 pm today.” a journalist has just tweeted.