‘Absolutely frivolous’: SC slaps Rs 50,000 cost on Waseem Rizvi seeking removal of verses from Quran

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court slapped a cost of Rs 50,000 on former Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Chairman Syed Waseem Rizvi seeking removal of certain verses from Quran on the ground that they allegedly promote hatred and terror.

A bench headed by Justice R. F. Nariman at the outset queried Rizvi's counsel -- is he really serious about the matter and keen on pressing the petition.

The counsel replied in affirmative and began his arguments. After hearing the counsel for a few minutes, the bench said, "This is an absolutely frivolous writ petition."

The top court dismissed the petition with a cost of Rs 50,000, which will be paid to legal service authorities.

Rizvi's counsel argued that teaching in the holy book is not protected under Article 25 or 30 of the Constitution and cited issues with the interpretation of the verses. The counsel urged the top court to issue guidelines on the issue, so that students, studying in the madrasas under government, should not be indoctrinated. The counsel submitted that his client had written to the Central government on these issues.

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