MUMBAI: A petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court against the declaration of a public holiday in Maharashtra on January 22, the day of the Shri Ram temple Pran Prathistha ceremony. The petition was filed by four law students. A special bench comprising Justices GS Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale will hear the petition tomorrow. The petition contended that declaring a public holiday for a religious function of a particular sect was contrary to the secular stance envisaged by the Constitution.

The petition was filed by students from Maharashtra National Law University, Government Law College Mumbai and Nirma Law University in Gujarat. The petition said that the government's public celebration of the consecration ceremony of a Hindu temple and declaration of a public holiday as part of it was an attack on secular principles. The petition also pointed out the earlier observations of the Supreme Court that secularism is the basis of the Constitution. The plea also states that the state government has no power to declare a holiday under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.