‘SC Rulings On Matters Of Faith Are Selective’: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while speaking at the Hindustan Times (HT) leadership summit, said that the Supreme Court rulings on matters of faith were selective, Times of India has reported. This comes after the recent verdict in the Sabarimala case. Jaitley asked whether the court would address issues like polygamy and verbal divorces while applying equality before the law under Article 14 of the constitution.

“If you want to take a progressive steps, Articles 14 and 21 (of the Constitution) will apply against all religions”, Arun Jaitley told the audience. Jaitley added that these articles of the constitution cannot be applied to select practices because that would lead to social consequences. He said that the court should apply progressive principles to all religions, but it was not doing so.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had recently passed an ordinance criminalising instant Triple Talaq. The move had invited criticism from several opposition parties which had blocked the bill in Rajya Sabha. Jaitley also spoke on the Section 377 verdict, Indian economy and several other issues while participating in the HT leadership Summit.