Madras HC rejects plea to spread awareness against astrological 'superstition'

Chennai: Holding that some amount of independence has to be given to the individual to believe, imagine and ponder over their astrological beliefs, the Madras High Court has rejected a PIL plea to direct the authorities concerned to widely spread public awareness against astrological superstition and thereby eliminate the consequential evils.

The bench, on Friday, however said that the state, in its parens patriae role (the principle that political authority carries with it the responsibility for such protection) may evolve such a mechanism where citizens may be better informed and evil practices are given up.

“As much as the petitioner should be lauded for trying to orient citizens to a more scientific regime and shed superstitious beliefs, the court cannot issue any direction of the kind sought and some amount of independence has to be given to the individual to believe, imagine and ponder over the same,” the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu said.

It was dismissing a PIL petition from one A K Hemaraj, praying for a direction to the authorities concerned, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru, to widely spread public awareness about the scientifically proven truth on the subject of astrology and its serious impacts in all social media, TV, newspapers and in all other available means of reaching and educating the poor so as not to spoil the career and lives of their innocent children merely on astrological superstition.

The bench said matters of the present kind cannot be appropriately dealt with in court.