Plea In Delhi High Court Over Renaming India As 'Bharat'

A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court over the issue of renaming India as 'Bharat' and amending Article I of the Constitution of India. Filed by Namaha, the plea seeks a direction on the Union Government to decide his representation on the issue after the Supreme Court in 2020 refused to entertain a petition for renaming the country but had directed that the plea be treated as a representation.It is the petitioner's case that since 2020, the representation has neither been considered nor decided by any of the department of the Union of India. The matter was heard on February 04 by Justice Sachin Datta. At the outset, the counsel appearing for the Union of India and Ministry of Law and Justice appeared on advance notice and sought some time to take instructions in the matter. The matter will now be heard on March 12. The plea states that after waiting for more than a year, the petitioner filed an application under Right to Information Act, 2005, seeking information about pendency and status of the representation.In December 2021, the petitioner was informed that the matter was assigned to then ASG K.M. Natraj on June 03, 2020, and that the application may be transferred to CPIO, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, since the Union of India through Secretary, Parliament House was impleaded as respondent.“That thereafter the petitioner has been running from pillar to post for getting the status of his representation which has neither been considered nor decided by any of the concerned department of the Union of India,” the plea states. It adds that Article 21 of the Constitution of India entitles every citizen the equal right to call his own country as Bharat. The petition contends that the English name “India” does not represent the culture and tradition of the country and that renaming it to “Bharat” would help citizens “shed colonial baggage.”“…now the time is ripe to recognize the country by its original and authentic name i.e. BHARAT; especially when our cities have been renamed to identify with the Indian ethos,” the plea states.Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Sanjeev Sagar (Sr. Adv) along with Mr. Ashutosh Thakur, Mr. Aabhas Parmal, AdvsCounsel for Respondents: Ms. Nidhi Raman (CGSC) along with Mr. Arnav Mittal (GP) and Mr. Zubin Singh, Adv. for R1 & R4; Mr. Sandeep Kumar Mahapatra, Mr. Sugam Kumar Jha, Mr. Trbhuvan, Mr. Raghav Tandon, Mr. Mahesh Baluni (AEO-RSS), Advs. for R-3; Mr. Pramod Gupta, Adv. for Lok SabhaTitle: NAMAHA v. Union of India & Ors.

Plea In Delhi High Court Over Renaming India As 'Bharat'

Nupur Thapliyal

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