‘Not unconstitutional’: Chhattisgarh HC upholds validity of hoardings barring entry of pastors

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that hoardings restricting the entry of pastors and “converted Christians”, which had been put up in eight villages of the state’s Kanker district, were not unconstitutional, The Indian Express reported.

On October 28, a division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru ruled that the hoardings appeared to have been installed “as a precautionary measure to protect the interest of indigenous tribes and local cultural heritage”.

The court was hearing a petition filed by a resident of the district, Digbal Tandi, who argued that the signs amounted to segregation and discrimination against members of the Christian community, reported Hindustan Times.

Tandi also told the court that the hoardings had created fear among those who had converted to Christianity and religious leaders who have visited these villages before.

He further alleged that the Panchayat Department had instructed villages to adopt resolutions under the slogan “Hamari parampara hamari virasat (our tradition, our heritage)”, which were being misused to prohibit Christians.

The petitioner claimed that the hoardings and circulars misused provisions of the 1996 Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, to promote religious discrimination and hostility against Christians, reported Hindustan Times.

The list of villages in the petition are Kudal, Parvi, Junwani, Ghota, Ghotiya, Havechur, Musurputta and Sulangi, according to The Times of...

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