India: Hindu Mahasabha sets up first Hindu court on the lines of Shariat court

The Times of India

This I-Day, Hindu Mahasabha sets up first Hindu court on the lines of Shariat court
TNN | Aug 15, 2018, 04.33 PM IST

This I-Day, Hindu Mahasabha sets up first Hindu court on the lines of Shariat court
MEERUT: In a first of its kind move, the members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha set up the first Hindu court – on the lines of Shariat court, as the country celebrated Independence Day on Wednesday. Set up with an aim to make decisions on Hindu affairs, and have an equivalent court-like system in place just like Darul Qaza (Shariat courts) – which resolves issues in line with Islamic Laws, the first Hindu Court also got its first judge in a ceremony that was held here at the party’s office on Meerut’s Sharda road.

“We had challenged the establishment of Shariat Courts a few days ago and asked that they should not exist at all because there should be one constitution for all. We had even asked the government in a letter that we sent demanding this, that if our demands are not met, we will set up a similar court for Hindus. Since no action was taken in our favour, we set up the first Hindu court here on Wednesday,” said Pandit Ashok Sharma, national vice president, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. Sharma is also the head of the five-member sangrakshak mandalof the Hindu court.

Pooja Shakun Pandey, national secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, who has been appointed as the first judge of the Hindu Court, said, “We will deal with matters related to Hindus only and the issues will range from harassment of Hindu women, Hindu marriages, disputes of property or money, and many others. When the BJP came to power in the centre and the state, we had high hopes from them but since they have started playing divide and rule among Hindus on the basis of caste, Hindu court is a way to bring them together. We will have proper jails and our maximum punishment will be death.” Pandey, it should be noted, was a professor until five years ago and has masters in Maths, Computer Science, and also is an M.Phil in Mathematics and Ph.D in Mathematics.

The party members plan to declare the bylaws of their court on October 2 and appoint a total of five judges in different parts of the country on November 15, so that “Hindus can get justice at five different places,” said Shrma.

Abhishek Agarwal, district president, Hindu Mahasabha, said, “The civil courts already have lakhs of pending cases and it gets difficult to get justice for a person who is poor. So by means of the Hindu court, people will be able to get quick and affordable justice.”