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The division bench remarked that while considering any Public Interest Litigation, the Court must remain alive to and be conscious of the 'Laxman Rekha' within which it must function.
The Division bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav J. Jamdar, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Swanath Foundation which sought directions to be issued to the Union Government and the State Government to change the official name of anath (orphan) to swanath.
The bench while dismissing the public interest litigation stated that the Marathi, Hindi, and Bengali equivalent of the English word ‘orphan’ is common, i.e., ‘anath’. The court also noted that the word is being used for ages.
Further, the court stated that “We do not agree with Dr. Warunjikar, learned advocate for the petitioner that the word ‘anath’ attaches any stigma to the child. On the contrary, we find this writ petition to be motivated, in the sense that it seeks an order in the nature of Mandamus to call anyone who is an orphan ‘swanath’ which, in fact, is the name of the Trust of which the petitioner is a managing trustee.”
The order of the court also mentioned that only in rare and extreme cases, where the Court ought to push itself, in the larger public interest to provide for the poor, deprived, and oppressed, to save the environment, or for ensuring good governance, to the last extent of the Laxman Rekha.
Case title: Swanath Foundation vs UOI and Anr.
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