S
Sahaj Vidhi
Delhi APO 2005

Which of the following have been held to be permissible restrictions under Articles 25 and 26 by the Supreme Court?

  1. Vesting of religious activities of Jagannath Temple by an Act in a committee.
  2. Permitting non-Brahmins to perform the rites and rituals in a temple.
  3. Denying the Muslims the right to run the Aligarh Muslim University.
  4. Imposing ban on loudspeakers for Azan and Kirtans. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Verified Answer
A. (A) 1 and 2
B. (B) 2 and 3
C. (C) 1, 3 and 4
D. (D) 2, 3 and 4

Explanation:

1. Vesting of secular aspects of religious institutions in a committee is a permissible regulation by the state (e.g., Shirur Mutt case). 2. Permitting non-Brahmins as priests is permissible as it's not an essential religious practice (N. Adithayan v. Travancore Devaswom Board). 3. In S. Azeez Basha v. Union of India (1968), AMU was held not to be established by Muslims, thus denying them the right to administer it as a minority institution under Article 30, making this 'denial' permissible in that context. 4. Banning loudspeakers is permissible as it's not an essential religious practice and relates to public order/health (Church of God case). All four statements describe permissible actions or outcomes of judicial interpretation. However, since there is no option for '1, 2, 3 and 4', and assuming the question implies that '1' might be considered problematic if 'religious activities' is interpreted broadly to include essential practices, option (D) which includes 2, 3, and 4 is chosen as the best fit among the given choices, despite the ambiguity.