The Supreme Court on Monday imposed a penalty of ₹50,000 on former chairman of Shia Waqf Board Syed Waseem Rizvi, who had sought the deletion of 26 verses from the Quran, which he claimes are used as “justifications” by Islamist terrorist groups for attacks on “non-believers”.
“It is an absolutely frivolous petition,” a bench, headed by justice Rohinton F Nariman, said. The bench also included justices BR Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy.
Rizvi’s petition had alleged that 26 verses/suras contained in the Quran violated the law of the land, promoted extremism and terrorism, and threatened sovereignty, unity, and integrity of the country.
He sought a declaration from the court to hold those verses unconstitutional, non-effective and non-functional.
The plea also asked for the appointment of a committee of religious experts to get an opinion on the subject matter of the petition while seeking a directive to the Union government to declare its policy on the subject/issue white paper or pass appropriate legislation.
Last month, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) had issued a notice to Rizvi asking him to withdraw his comments on Quran failing which, it said, it will hold a hearing and direct authorities to take appropriate legal action against him.
The NCM had further observed that the remarks made by Rizvi appeared to be a well-thought conspiracy to disturb the communal harmony of the country.
