Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Removal of Statue of Manu in Rajasthan High Court

The removal of the statue has been a longstanding demand of Dalit and anti-caste civil society organisations since its installation in 1989. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and M.M. Sundresh was, however, reluctant to interfere since a similar plea was already pending before the high court. “Approach the high court,” Justice Khanna advised, while dismissing the petition by one Ramji Lal Bairwa.

The 11-feet-tall sculpture of Manu has courted controversy since its installation in the premises of the Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court in February 1989. Reports suggest that the statue was installed during the chief justiceship of N.M. Kasliwal, on the request of the then-president of an association of the officers of the state’s higher judiciary, Padam Kumar Jain. However, within months of its inauguration, an administrative order was issued by the high court directing its removal. In a turn of events, the high court stayed its own order after the leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad brought a public interest litigation to protect the statue. This PIL is reportedly the oldest pending writ petition in the high court. The last time that the court heard the matter was in 2015, when the proceedings were allegedly disrupted due to the demonstrations staged by a faction of Brahmin lawyers.

Over the last 34 years, the statue of Manu has witnessed several protests and agitations against it, including by Bahujan leader and social reformer Kanshi Ram, and former union minister Ramdas Athawale. Activists allege that the principles laid out in Manusmriti, that is, the code of law given by Manu, are discriminatory towards Dalits, women, and other marginalised groups, and the installation in the high court premises, nothing but a monument to the caste system and patriarchy in India. Notably, B.R. Ambedkar had ceremonially burnt the Manusmriti to denounce the religious basis for untouchability and the text’s archaic teachings. On the other hand, people opposing the removal of the statue has rejected the contention that the statue has any caste connotation and have maintained the stance that it merely celebrates a figure who is believed to be the first law giver in the Hindu tradition.

Case Title

Ramji Lal Bairwa & Ors. v. Rajasthan High Court & Ors. | Writ Petition (Civil) No. 102 of 2023

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