Constitution Guarantees Right To Live Without Any Religion, Non-Religious Persons Can't Be Sidelined : Kerala HC Judge Justice VG Arun

Justice V.G. Arun of Kerala High Court, on Sunday, inaugurated and addressed 'Life Without Religion Award Distribution and Humanist Youth Movement Convention' conducted by the Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham and the Kerala Misra Vivaha Vedi as part of 'SECULAM 2022' event. 

"To live without adhering to any religion in our democratic secular country is certainly in tune with our Constitutional principles", Justice Arun said at the event. 

If Constitution guarantees such a right, how can people who live without religion can be marginalized or discriminated against, he asked.

Justice Arun said that he recently had to address this question as to how people who do not have any religion could be sidelined when the very right had been protected by the Constitution. He was referring to his recent decision wherein he had declared that EWS Benefits could not be denied to non-religious persons, and had further directed the State government to formulate a policy to issue community certificates to non-religious persons in order to avail such benefits. 

While expressing his gratitude in being able to take part in the event organized by a group of people who had prioritized humanity over religion, Justice Arun remembered Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and the hope expressed by the latter - "let there be a time when we love people regardless of their religion" , and also his anxiousness that the nation would find itself in danger, if religion and caste were prioritized over national interests. 

Justice Arun expressed his firm belief that gatherings like these could materialize the ideals put forth by Ambedkar, Sree Narayana Guru, and Sahodaran Ayyappan, in simply viewing men as men and loving each other regardless of religion. He further believed that the evergreen lives of V.K. Pavithran, "we have humanitarian blood in us", could serve as the motto in the journey of mankind to attain this goal.