Bengaluru: High Court refuses to suspend government order on church, missionaries probe

Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, October 26: The Popular Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) 1 has filed a public interest dispute (PIL) challenging the government’s order to investigate the official and unofficial Christian missionaries, institutions and establishments operating in Karnataka . However, the High Court refused to stay the July 7 order issued by the Minorities Directorate in this regard.

The high court division bench chaired by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Judge Sachin Shankar Mugdam, who took charge of the PIL, heard the petition.

The court, which has heard arguments from both sides for some time, issued notices to the chief government secretary and the director of the Department of Minority Welfare, giving them three weeks to file objections, the case appropriate, before adjourning the hearing.

The applicants’ lawyers, at the hearing, requested a provisional suspension of the investigation. The bench said, however, that it can be taken into account when objections are filed.

Lead counsel, Professor Ravivarma Kumar, presented arguments on behalf of the petitioners.