PIL Challenging Telangana Govt’s Ramzan Relaxation For Muslim Employees Withdrawn With Liberty To Approach High Court
|The PIL argued that the circular, issued on February 15, 2025, by the Telangana General Administration Department, violates constitutional principles of equality and secularism by granting preferential treatment to one religious group.
The Supreme Court today heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Telangana government's circular granting Muslim employees, including teachers and public sector staff, permission to leave work early at 4:00 PM throughout the month of Ramzan.
The PIL argued that the circular, issued on February 15, 2025, by the Telangana General Administration Department, violates constitutional principles of equality and secularism by granting preferential treatment to one religious group.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar ordered, "Learned counsel for the petitioner seeks permission to withdraw the present petition. Liberty to approach the respective High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. We also state that the petitioner is dismissed as withdrawn, with liberties prayed. We clarify that we have not expressed any opinion either on the merits or the assertions made in the petition."
Senior Advocate K Parmeshwar, along with AoR Sudhanshu Prakash and Advocate Anisha Agarwal, appeared for the Petitioner.
Parmeshwar sought permission to withdraw the petition, with liberty to approach the High Court.
The Court allowed the petitioner to withdraw and granted liberty to approach the respective High Court.
About the PIL
The Petition filed through AoR Sudhanshu Prakash sought directions to the Union of India and all States/Union Territories to ensure that no public holidays, whether partial or full, are declared exclusively for adherents of a particular religion. It argues that the circular sets a dangerous precedent, leading to potential demands from other religious communities, ultimately impacting administrative efficiency and governance.
"The present Writ seeks, inter-alia, issuance of certain directions to the Union of India and Other States/Union Territories that no holidays [whether partial or complete] are declared only for adherents of any particular religion(s) and also to challenge the circular dated 15.02.2025 issued by the Government of Telangana, General Administration (Poll. B) Department bearing the Circular Memo No. 101 Poll. B/2025, (“Impugned Circular”). The Impugned Circular grants all Muslim employees, including teachers, contract and outsourcing staff, as well as those in boards, corporations, and employees in public sector units, in the State of Telangana, permission to leave their workplaces at 4:00 pm itself throughout the month of Ramzan, from 02.03.2025 to 31.03.2025," the PIL read.
"The State Government of Telangana, it appears, has exercised its power to declare public holidays under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 read with notification dated 08.05.1968, issued by the Government of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in an arbitrary manner that goes against the principles of equality," it added.
The PIL contended that the circular violates Articles 14, 15, and 25 of the Constitution by creating an unreasonable classification solely based on religion. It further states that similar fasting and religious observances exist across multiple religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and the Baháʼí faith, but the government has selectively granted relaxation to only one group. "It is submitted that while the State can make reasonable classifications, they must be based on intelligible differentia and serve a legitimate objective. The circular fails these requirements by granting preferential treatment to a specific group during Ramzan without offering similar concessions to others, resulting in religious discrimination," it stated.
The PIL further stated, "The Impugned Circular violates Article 25 when read alongside other provisions of Part III of the Indian Constitution. Article 25 grants all individuals the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion, subject to restrictions related to public order, morality, health, and other constitutional provisions. Since the circular contradicts the right to equality under Articles 14 and 15, it fails to meet the requirements of Article 25, which mandates a balanced approach in case of conflicts with other fundamental rights. Therefore, the circular is liable to be set aside."
Cause Title: Harsha Yardhana Sastry Kanchibota v. State of Telengana [W.P.(C) No. 199/2025; Diary No. 12321/2025]