The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected a batch of petitions challenging the State Government’s decision to rename Aurangabad district as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor stated that the Maharashtra Government’s notification does not warrant any interference.
“We have no hesitation to hold that the notification issued by the state government Aurangabad and Osmanabad does not suffer from any illegality or any legal vice,” the bench stated.
The court further stated that the petitions are devoid of merits and consequently dismissed them.
Back to 2022
In 2022, under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Maharashtra cabinet approved the renaming of Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv.
On July 16, 2022, a Government Resolution was passed by the two-member cabinet for changing the names, which was subsequently forwarded to the central government.
Centre’s Approval
In February 2023, the Union Home Ministry issued a no objection letter for the name changes, following which a gazette notification was issued by the state government altering the names of Aurangabad and Osmanabad.
Subsequently, numerous petitions were filed by residents of Aurangabad challenging the government’s decision to rename the city as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Another PIL was filed by 17 Osmanabad residents against the government’s decision to rename it as Dharashiv.
Both petitions characterized the government’s decision as “politically motivated.”
The Maharashtra government countered the pleas, asserting that the renaming was based on the historical significance of the two places and not driven by political reasons.
