Above: Mata Vaishno Devi commemorative coins/Photo: Anil Shakya

The Delhi High Court bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar on Thursday (January 11) ruled that there was nothing wrong in the government issuing commemorative coins with religious symbols embossed on them. It ruled that this did not go against the secular fabric as ordered by the Constitution.

Petitioner Nafis Qazi had petitioned the court, saying that that the government issuing coins with religious symbols embossed on them was against the constitution and should be banned.

The bench sought the meaning of commemorative coin. The respondent, Union of India, submitted that it is defined in Section 2(b) of the Coinage Act, 2011 as any coin stamped by the Government or any other authority empowered by the Government on this behalf to commemorate any specific occasion or event and expressed in the Indian currency.

The bench dismissed the petition, saying that there was no act of “favouritism and discrimination” by the government in directing the minting of coins to commemorate particular event and under Coinage Act, 2011, govt has the power to commemorate any event.

Issuing coins with the image of Mata Vaishno Devi to commemorate the occasion of silver jubilee of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board was “not a dent on secular fabric” of the country. The court said secularism doesn’t say you will never issue coins to commemorate for any event.

—India Legal Bureau