The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the removal of the Manu statue as the matter is still pending before the high court of Rajasthan.
A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice MM Sundresh was hearing a petition filed by Ramji Lal Bairwa seeking the removal of the statue of ancient Hindu law giver Manu which is installed in the premises of the Jaipur bench of the Rajasthan High Court.
The court opined that the top court could not hear the issue when it was already pending before the Rajasthan High Court and asked the petitioner to approach the High Court instead.
“Why should the Supreme Court entertain this when the matter is pending before the High Court? You should approach the High Court,” Justice Khanna remarked.
According to the petition, the statue was secretly installed in 1989 because Manu was not a popular figure, but rather someone who propagated the caste system of social hierarchy.
Following that, a full-court meeting that year resolved to have the statue removed, the plea stated.
However, a challenge to the same is still pending before the High Court’s full bench.
Manu, according to the petitioner, is the author of the Manusmriti, which is opposed to “the very concept of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity to all, enshrined in the preamble of the Indian Constitution.”
The Manusmriti is openly anti-women, and it was submitted by 75% of India’s population.
The presence of the statue lowers India’s international standing because countries will not invest in a country that promotes discrimination, it added.
Furthermore, removing the statue will benefit Hindu society, according to the submission.
