Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court, on Monday, while hearing a PIL challenging the state government’s decision to include the Bhagwat Gita in the school curriculum for students of classes 6-12 issued a notice to both central and state governments over the matter.

A Bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J Shastri sought the government’s response to the plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind against the decision made by the state education department on March 17th.

As per the petition, the resolution violates Articles 14 and 28 as it is against the principle of secularism which is a basic feature of the Constitution.

The PIL contends, “It is an undisputed fact that the Gita is a religious book of the Hindus, and all the values enunciated in the Gita are interwoven with the tenets of Hinduism.”

So this decision violates Article 28 of the constitution which says, “No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds.”

Petitioner also alleged that the resolution is purportedly inspired by the National Education Policy (NEP). However, NEP is a religion-neutral policy and does not prescribe any religious books.

While the petitioners sought stay of the resolution under challenge, the bench declined that request and listed the case for further hearing on August 18, 2022.

Senior advocate Mihir Joshi and advocate Isa Hakim appeared for the petitioners. DeshGujarat