The effigy of Sonam Raghuvanshi or any other person who allegedly kill her husband during honeymoon will not be burnt during the Dussehra festival. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has instructed the officials to ensure that this does not happen.
It is worth noting that the body of Sonam’s husband Raja Raghuvanshi was found in a deep moat near a waterfall in Sohra area (also known as Cherrapunji) about a week and a half after his disappearance in Meghalaya. Later, several others, including Sonam and her alleged lover, were arrested in the case.
Indore -based social organization ‘Paurush’ (people against unequal rules used to shelter oppression), attached to the case, said earlier this week that he is preparing an 11 -end effigy for ‘Surpanakha Dahan’, which would have photographs of accused women of the heinous killings of her husband, children or in -laws including Sonam Raghuvanshi.
Meanwhile, a single bench of Justice Prannoy Verma said on Saturday that such an act is unacceptable in a democratic country like India and cannot violate the fundamental rights conferred under Articles 14 and 21 of the defendant Constitution. The court passed this order on a petition filed against the organization by Sonam’s mother Sangeeta Raghuvanshi.
The court said, “Even if the petitioner’s daughter is an accused in a criminal case and the complaint against her and her family members can not be allowed to burn the effigy in such a way that the petitioner, her daughter and her entire family will be violated the fundamental rights.”
The petitioner said that the effigy burning would cause severe and permanent damage to the dignity of his family and would be a severe violation of his fundamental rights provided under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution, including the right to life and personal freedom as well as the right to equality before law.
He argued that even though his daughter is accused in a criminal case, the action of the organization is an illegal and unconstitutional act of public insults, which possibly tarnish the family image and violates their privacy.
The state counsel said that an inquiry would be done as per the law, but after examining the prescription and other documents submitted by the petitioner, the court found that the organization’s plans were clear and unacceptable.
Talking to PTI on Sunday, Sangeeta Raghuvanshi said that the court has told the officials that no such effigy should be burnt and any illegal or unconstitutional act should be stopped which can tarnish the family’s reputation. “
He said that the organization has also been banned from burning effigies of any woman facing criminal allegations in other states, and emphasized that such practices are not acceptable in the democratic system.
Ashok Dashore, the convener of ‘Purush’, said, “We first justified the effigy burning as symbolic destruction of ‘negative qualities such as adultery, immorality, valuelessness and indecency’ and compared it to mythological characters. However, after the court instructions, we will follow the order.”
