SG : The Court is not intervening on its own, you went to Court.
SG : What is the purpose of Uniform? Somebody is not dressed in a way I feel inferior. Uniform is for uniformity and equality. When you want to cross that threshold, your test is also on a high threshold.
SG : They have to show it is so compelling. We have figures, who have not been excommunicated for not following. It can be a permissible practice or at best an ideal practice but not an essential practice.
SG : May be the Holy Quran says so. I accept it. I have not read it. When they assert that right before the Court of law, merely mention in Quran will not by itself make it an essential religious practice, it may become a religious practice.
SG : When someone asserts it is my essential religious practice, someone says you cannot,..
Justice Gupta : Some authors have been referred to..they say original word was khimar and in Persianised text it became hijab...
SG : I will give a regular example. Suppose during COVID, someone wants to take Rath Yatra, Govt wants to stop, they will say it is essential religious practice, who has to decide? Court. At some stage, Court will have to decide. Shirur Mutt does not prevent
SG : For example an extreme example, in a religion, I will drink in public, dance in public in nude, somebody will say it will be against morality, I will be prevented by local authority? Who will decide.
J Gupta : The extreme example may not be appropriate.
Justice Gupta : What they say in Shirur Mutt is that whether it is essential religious practice can be decided by the religious leaders or the community itself.
SG : If someone says drinking in public is part of religious practice...
Justice Dhulia : Then the public order ground under Article 19 will come.
SG : To say candidly, may be the High Court could have avoided going into it, but when the petitioners raise half hearted pleadings, it will be gone into..