CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: The Bombay High Court has sought the Maharashtra government’s response to a petition filed by Malegaon Municipal Corporation Deputy Mayor Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed challenging directions to remove a portrait of Tipu Sultan from her office. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna has given the State three weeks to file its reply.
Ahmed, who belongs to the Samajwadi Party, said she had displayed portraits of 12 personalities in her municipal office, including Mahatma Gandhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rani Laxmibai, Tipu Sultan, Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule and Bhagat Singh.
The controversy followed an objection raised by Malegaon Municipal Corporation’s Leader of Opposition Nilesh Kakade over the Tipu Sultan portrait. The corporation subsequently referred to government circulars, including one dating to 1965, concerning portraits permitted in government premises and directed Ahmed to remove the photograph.
Ahmed’s counsel argued that the authorities were selectively objecting to Tipu Sultan’s portrait while other personalities displayed in the office were not included in the government’s cited list. The State opposed the petition’s maintainability.
The High Court has not ruled on the merits of the dispute. The matter will be considered further after the Maharashtra government submits its response
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