Supreme Court orders the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to communicate with states lacking Haj committees.

Last Updated on March 29, 2023 by Administrator

The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has been ordered by the Supreme Court to communicate with States that have not yet established Haj Committees in their various States. A case involving the establishment of a Central Haj Committee as required by Section 3 read with Section 4 of the Haj Committee Act, 2002, and State Haj Committees as required by Section 17 of the Act was being heard by the panel made up of CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala.

According to his instructions, a Central Haj Committee had already been established, and Odisha was the only state that did not yet have a State Haj committee, according to Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, who told the court. The petitioner in this case countered, however, that despite the Central Haj committee’s formation, there are still open positions on the committee. ASG Natraj responded by saying he would look into it and take appropriate corrective action.

ASG Nataraj says that Central Haj Committee has been constituted, CJI DY Chandrachud commanded as he read out the order. According to the petitioner, there are open positions on the council. ASG promises to investigate it and take prompt corrective action. ASG claims that Orissa is the only state without a State council. The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, which will work with those governments that have not yet established a Haj Committee, can look into the matter.

The Court was previously informed that India has not had a functioning Central Haj Committee since 2019. Additionally, as of October 2021, only 1 out of 19 States has a completely operational State Haj Committee, while the other 18 either lack a committee altogether or are still waiting for the State Government to act on committee appointments.

Case Title: Hafiz Naushad Ahmad Azmi v. UOI & Ors.

Written by: Srijan Raj