New Delhi:
The Supreme Court plans to revisit its 1995 judgement in which the court ruled that seeking vote in the name of Hinduism is not a corrupt practice. The court decided to constitute a larger bench to have a relook at its judgement in the wake of high voltage election campaign for the national elections due by May this year.
"It is a matter relating to elections. 2014 elections are important. Whether one can seek vote in the name of religion has to be considered in interpreting Section 123 (3) of the Representation of the People Act," the court order issued today said.
The Bombay High Court had set aside the election of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi. The matter was then moved to Supreme Court, which in 1995 overturned the High Court order saying Hindutva is a way of life.
Since then, the issue was raised in the top court many times, including in 2002 when the court referred the matter to a seven-judge bench for clarity.
On Thursday, the issue was raised before a five-judge Constitution bench in a petition which then directed the Supreme Court registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice of India to constitute a seven-judge bench soon to look into it.