Supreme Court Directs State Governments To Inform If State Haj Committees Have Been Constituted

The Supreme Court on Friday(August 12) directed State governments to inform the Court, by way of an affidavit, if Hajj committees are constituted in their respective states. The court has also directed states to specify the names of the committee members of the Hajj Committees thus constituted.

This matter pertains to the constitution of a Central Haj Committee prescribed under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the Haj Committee Act, 2002.

In the oral hearings, the counsel for petitioner, Senior Advocate Sanjay R Hedge, submitted that while some states had submitted counter affidavits, pertaining to the constitution of Hajj Committees in their respective states, others had not. The bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari, orally remarked that it was the statutory obligation of States to constitute these committees.

The petitioner also submitted that central committee has to be formed after state committees are formed.

The petition argues that Centre and the Respondent States have failed to comply with the strict provision of the Haj Committee Act, 2002 and have failed to appoint Committees under the said statute. In the last hearing, the petitioner had submitted that India does not have an operational Central Hajj Committee since 2019. Also, as on October 2021, only 1 out of 19 States have a fully operational State Haj Committee, whereas all other states are either awaiting actions from State Government for appointment or don't even have a Committee for more than 3 years.

The petition, while relying on Section 8 of the Act, which provides for formation of a new committee at least 4 months prior to the expiry of the incumbent committee, contends that the tenure of the previously appointed committees, which anyway had not been appointed in strict compliance of the statute, had admittedly lapsed. Thus, as per the petition, the planning and coordination for the Hajj 2022 which was scheduled for 7th July 2022 would be prejudicially affected unless a committee was immediately appointed by the Centre and the concerned State Governments at the Centre and State level respectively.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court has directed the Respondent states to inform the court, by way of an affidavit, if Hajj committees are constituted in their respective states and to additionally specify names of the committee members of the Committees constituted. The same has to be informed to the court in two weeks. 

Case Title: Hafiz Naushad Ahmad Azmi V. Union Of India , Ministry Of Minority Affairs & Ors| W.P.(C) No. 1229/2021