The Delhi High Court rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging a recent Central Government notification that declares June 25 as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to mark the anniversary of the Emergency proclamation in 1975.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the notification does not undermine or insult the Constitution of India.
“The notification is neither violative of the Constitution of India nor does it insult the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. The PIL is accordingly dismissed,” the bench stated.
The division bench noted that the notification addresses the abuse of power and misuse of constitutional provisions that followed the Emergency, rather than the proclamation itself. The terms “hatya” and “samvidhaan” are used in this context, the court explained. “It is not about the proclamation of the emergency but about the abuse of power that followed it,” the bench added.
The high court dismissed the PIL filed by Samir Malik, who argued that the use of the word “hatya” in relation to the Constitution of India in the notification is derogatory. Malik contended that the notification violates the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act and that the language used is insulting to the Constitution, which he regards as a living document.
