New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Friday gave the green signal to the decision of the Maharashtra government in which it was decided to change the names of two major cities of the state. The Maharashtra government had decided to change the name of Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court against this decision, which was rejected by the court. The petitioners had earlier approached the Bombay High Court, which did not see any legal challenge in the decision of the state government and upheld it. After this, the petitioners reached the Supreme Court against the decision of the High Court. They hoped that the decision of the Supreme Court would come in their favor. However, this did not happen and the court rejected this petition and gave the green signal to the decision of the Maharashtra government.
What did the Supreme Court say regarding judicial review of the decision?
The Supreme Court said that changing the name is the right of the government and there is no need for judicial review. The High Court had given a detailed order after hearing the petitioners. The court said, “We will not interfere in that.” Earlier on May 8, the High Court had upheld the state government’s decision to change the name of Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv. The court had said that this decision is legally correct. Now the Supreme Court has also approved it.
What is the whole controversy regarding name change?
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had decided to rename both Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities in a cabinet meeting on June 29, 2021. Aurangabad city and revenue division were renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, while Osmanabad was renamed Dharashiv. Then on July 16, 2022, the next government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde upheld the decision of the MVA government.
After this, petitions were filed in the High Court against the government’s decision. It was said that the government had withdrawn the decision to change the name of Aurangabad in 2001 itself. The Uddhav government had changed the name for its political benefit. The petitioners claimed that this decision is a complete disregard of the provisions of the Constitution. It was said that this decision can create a rift between two religious groups and this decision is completely contrary to the secular fabric of India.
