SC declines to entertain PIL seeking direction to Centre to control superstition, sorcery

New Delhi, Aug 2 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the Centre and state governments to take appropriate steps to control superstition and sorcery.  

"The answer is really education, the spread of literacy. Developing a 'scientific temper' is not all about judicial writs. The more educated you become, the more rational you become, at least, that is the presumption. How can a court issue a writ to the Union and state governments to eradicate superstition?" remarked a Bench presided over by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud.  

"You don't become a social reformer by merely moving the court. Social reformers never come to court. They do so much good work outside the court. We have our limitations. We have to decide under the fabric of law. We cannot entertain something because it is a very good issue," the Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, told advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, appearing as petitioner-in-person.

Sensing the disclination of the apex court to entertain the PIL, Upadhyay chose to withdraw his petition. 

The PIL said that the root cause behind the recent stampede in Uttar Pradesh's Hathras, where at least 121 people died and several injured, was "superstition and sorcery".

It referred to Delhi's 2018 Burari incident, where all 11 members of a family committed suicide under the influence of "superstition and sorcery".

"Similarly, the brutal murder of two women as part of ritualistic human sacrifices in Kerala has left the country in shock. According to a preliminary probe, the victims were subjected to extreme torture and sexually harassment, their body parts cut into several pieces before they were buried in a pit. There are hundreds of similar cases across the country," the plea said.

The PIL also sought direction to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform and to promote the fundamental duties among citizens in the spirit of Article 51A of the Constitution.

It said a strict anti-superstition and sorcery law was urgently needed to do away with the unscientific acts prevalent in society that adversely impact the community and prevent any fake seers from exploiting innocent people.

"Allowing unhindered continuance of superstition sorcery and black magic violates the citizens' fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 21 and 25 of the Constitution," it said, adding that only eight states in India have witch-hunting legislations so far but they do not cover all aspects of superstition sorcery and black magic.