'Let's Not Add To Holidays' : Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Seeking National Holiday For Guru Gobind Jayanti

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 17) dismissed a petition seeking to declare Guru Gobind Jayanti as a national holiday.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta dismissed a writ petition filed in 2020 by the All India Shiromani Singh Sabha.

Justice Mehta, commenting that India was a "holy land of holidays", said, "Let us not add to that".

When the bench expressed disinclination to entertain the matter, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, for the petitioner, pressed the prayer in the petition seeking a uniform policy for public holidays.  The petitioner also had sought directions to formulate a uniform policy for the declaration of national holidays as against the "whims and fancies of various political groups".

However, the bench refused.

The petitioner was primarily aggrieved by the fact that the birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singhji's has yet not been declared a public holiday, although he is an important historic figure.

The PIL stated that there was no legislation dealing with declaration of public holidays. However, in countries like New Zealand, the UK and the USA, the holidays were governed by the legislation.

Public holidays are declared through executive instructions and they are based on "whims and fancies" of various political and community groups, the plea stated.

In this backdrop, the petitioner sought a direction for issuing guidelines for declaring public and gazetted holidays all over the country. The Union Government and all State Governments were added as respondents. In 2021, the Court had issued notice to the respondents on the plea.

Also read- Article 25 Doesn't Include Right To Seek Public Holiday On Religious Occasion : Supreme Court

 Headnote

Constitution of India – Article 32 and Article 14 – Declaration of Public Holidays – Judicial Review of Policy Decisions – Writ petition seeking directions to the Union and State governments to frame uniform guidelines for declaring public/gazetted holidays and to declare Guru Gobind Singh's 'Prakash Parv' as a nationwide gazetted holiday - Held: Dismissing the petition, the Court observed that the declaration of public holidays is a policy decision involving administrative efficiency, economic implications, and the balancing of diverse socio-cultural practices – Noted that i. Executive Domain: Matters of policy determination regarding governance and administrative exigencies lie within the exclusive domain of the executive. Any judicial mandate to increase non-working days involves a line-drawing exercise that is inherently policy-driven and not amenable to judicial determination; ii. Article 14 (Equality): The absence of a uniform policy does not amount to discrimination under Article 14. Absolute uniformity is not mandated where differentiation is founded on rational considerations, such as regional socio-cultural needs in a federal structure; iii. Article 25 (Religious Freedom): Freedom of religion does not extend to a right to seek State recognition of a religious occasion in the form of a compulsory nationwide public holiday; iv. Administrative Impact: Expanding the list of gazetted holidays would adversely impact governance and public productivity - In a developing nation, the focus must remain on the dignity of labor and continuity of work; v. Floodgates Argument: Granting such relief would open the floodgates to similar claims from diverse sections of society, leading to an impractical expansion of holidays; vi. Legacy of Guru Gobind Singh Ji: Supreme Court recorded deep reverence for the Tenth Guru, noting that his teachings of 'Kirat Karo' (honest living) and 'Vand Chakko' (sharing) emphasize active engagement with responsibilities - His legacy is best honored through the dedicated performance of duties rather than a symbolic show of respect by demanding a holiday. [Paras 11-18]

Case :All India Shiromani Singh Sabha v. Union of India and others | W.P.(C) No. 1474/2020

Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC )290

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