UPSC-Relevant News Items

1. Surat Court Hears Plea Against 7-Year-Old Daughter's Jain Diksha, Raising Faith vs. Minor Rights Debate

Page: 3

Summary:

• • A Surat-based man has filed a petition in the Family Court seeking to stay the *diksha* (Jain renunciation) ceremony of his 7-year-old daughter, arguing minors cannot make life-altering decisions.
• • The case reignites the debate regarding the rights and capacity of minors to undertake stringent religious vows, following a similar stay granted by the same court on a 12-year-old boy’s renunciation in May.
• • The father's counsel contends that religious practices cannot violate the fundamental rights of a minor, who is legally incapable of giving valid consent for such a decision.

Additional Facts:

• • The Judiciary, primarily through Family Courts, acts as the institutional mechanism utilizing its *parens patriae* jurisdiction to balance Article 25 (Religious Freedom) against the fundamental rights (Article 21) and welfare of the minor.
• • A key precedent was set in 2016 when the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) halted the *diksha* of a minor, establishing that religious rights under Article 25 are subservient to child welfare protections guaranteed by the Constitution and the Juvenile Justice Act.
• • Further solidifying this stance, the Gujarat High Court (2018) intervened in another high-profile minor *diksha* case, affirming that the state's obligation to ensure mandatory education and protection under the Juvenile Justice Act takes precedence over religious practice claims.

Linkage with UPSC course:

---