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PIL plea claimed that at present at least 13 places are being claimed to be the birthplace of Goswami Tulsidas and three years are given as his birth year.
The Allahabad High Court recently dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the Central and State governments to fix and recognize the correct date of birth and birthplace of poet Goswami Tulsidas.
The bench of Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Om Prakash Shukla observed that the textbooks on which the petitioner had relied lacked legal sanctity and court could not opine one way or the other on the basis of the same.
Moreover, the division bench said that the question involved in the petition was essentially academic in nature. "Such questions are left open for declaration if the petitioner is so aggrieved," said the court.
Accordingly, court dismissed the PIL without prejudice to the remedy of declaration sought, if any.
Petitioner Dr. Shailendra Nath Mishra, Head of the Department of Hindi at Shri Lal Bahadur Shashtri Degree College, Gonda, sought direction to the Ministry of Human Resources & Development, Union of India, Department of Higher Education, Government of UP, Department of Secondary Education, UP and Department of Basic Education, UP among others to fix and recognize the correct date of birth and birthplace of Tulsidas on the basis of the majority of evidence and information available on record.
As per the PIL petition, at present at least 13 places are being claimed to be the birthplace of Goswami Tulsidas among which two places— Paska and Soro are given top priority.
Regarding the birth year of the great poet, the PIL stated that three different years of birth are given— 1497 AD, 1526 AD and 1532 AD.
Importantly, the petition mentioned that in the year 2002, a question was raised in the Legislative Assembly of UP by one Ram Vishun Azad regarding Goswami Tulsidas' birthplace and the same had been recognized to be Sukarkhet, Gonda.
The petitioner's main argument was that despite the facts which clearly establish and recognize the place of birth of Goswami Tulsidas to be at Sukarkhet, District Gonda, still different birthplaces of Goswami Tulsidas are being printed in the texts and books. To press his arguments, the petitioner had relied on various magazines and books.
However, the court found the petition misconceived and dismissed the same.
Case Title: Dr. Shailendra Nath Mishra v. Union of India and others
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