CJI DY Chandrachud said Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to engage with states that have not yet established Haj Committees

The Supreme Court has ordered the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to engage with states that have not yet established Haj Committees. The case was related to the formation of Central Haj Committee and State Haj Committees under the Haj Committee Act, 2002. According to the Additional Solicitor General, a Central Haj Committee had already been established, but the petitioner argued that there were still vacant positions in the committee. The ASG assured that remedial action would be taken. As for the State committees, the ASG informed the court that only Odisha does not have one, and the matter will be looked into by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs.

In August 2022, the Supreme Court directed state governments to inform the court through an affidavit about the establishment of Haj Committees in their respective states and to provide the names of committee members. Later, the court gave an extension to four states to establish Haj Committees. The petitioner claimed that both the Centre and the Respondent States failed to comply with the provisions of the Haj Committee Act, 2002, and did not establish the committees under the statute. During an earlier hearing, it was revealed that India has not had an operational Central Haj Committee since 2019. As of October 2021, only one out of 19 states has a fully operational State Haj Committee, while the rest are either waiting for action from the state government or have not had a committee for more than three years.

 

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