New Delhi: Almost two decades after the Supreme Court allowed politicians to seek votes by using words like "Hindutva" and "Hinduism", the apex court is set to revisit its own judgment on Tuesday on whether the words connote the "way of life" of the Indian people.
The highest court of the land had ruled that Hinduism/Hindutva is not a religion but a way of life. This judgment delivered in 1995 was called the hindutva judgment and handed down by a bench of 3 SC judges led by the then chief justice of india, J S Verma.
The SC held that Hinduism was "indicative more of a way of life of the Indian people and is not confined merely to describe persons practising the Hindu religion as a faith”.
Then a question was raised in the SC if, a politician sought votes in the name of Hinduism, will it amount to corrupt practices under the Representation of People's Act and subsequently attract disqualification.
The court had then answered the question in the negative and held that seeking votes in the name of Hinduism is not a “corrupt practice” under Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, which would result in setting aside the election of winning candidates.
However, over 2 decades later, a bench of 7 judges of the Supreme court of India is set to revisit this contentious judgment.
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