Hindu Mahasabha sets up ‘Hindu Court’

New Delhi, Aug 18:While the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was addressing India on the occasion of its 72nd Independence Day from the Red Fort  upholding the democratic tradition of the country, at the same time the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha was busy setting up the first ever ‘Hindu court’ in Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh.

Ashok Sharma, national vice-president of the Hindu Mahasabha, said the ‘Hindu court’ was established on Wednesday on India’s Independence Day with Aligarh resident Pooja Shakun Pandey as its first judge.

Speaking with Newsclick, Ashok Sharma said, “The decision to set up the Hindu court was taken as the prime minister Narendra Modi and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath have not taken any step to close the Sharia system in India. We (Hindu Mahasabha) had written letters  to both of them last month, demanding the closure of Sharia courts in India. However, there was no response from them, that’s why we were forced to establish this tribunal.”

Sharma further added that if the government does not express interest to shut down the Darul Qaza (Sharia Courts) then it should not raise any questions to the Hindu Mahasabha setting up a Hindu court. When asked what sort of issue will fall within the purview of the Hindu law court, Sharma said, “We will deal with internal issues of our religion, like marriage problems, if someone has borrowed money and not returned to him, and if any non-Hindu will criticise our religion then we will not hesitate to take law in our hands.”

Recently, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the highest decision making body on Muslim affairs in the country, was also caught in the midst of a controversy on July 8, when it came out with the proposal to open ‘Sharia courts’ in all districts to resolve issues in line with Islamic laws.

Sharma went on to add, “Nathuram Godse is our hero. On the date when he was hanged, November 15, we will set up five more ‘Hindu courts’ at Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura, Firozabad and Shikohabad.”

Pooja Shakun Pandey, nominated as the first judge of the ‘Hindu court’ said her ‘court’ did not require any statutory approval just like the ‘Sharia courts’, which are running as per the Sharia laws without any legal approval.( Courtesy: Newsclick)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)