Petitioner must be secular not selective, says SC on PIL for ban on parties with names having religious connotation

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the petitioner who has filed a PIL seeking a ban on political parties with names and symbols having religious connotation that he must be "secular" and "fair to everyone" and not selective in his approach.

The apex court also said it will consider whether the matter should be put before a five-judge bench A bench of justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna stated this after the counsel for All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) objected to the PIL by Syed Waseem Rizwi, saying he had impleaded only these two parties that have Muslim names but has left out those which have a reference to other religions.

Senior advocate KK Venugopal, appearing for AIMIM, also said the court may consider referring the matter to a larger bench of five judges as any order will have far-reaching consequences.