How did media see petition before we saw it? Bombay High Court on plea challenging inter-faith marriage committee

The Bombay High Court on Monday took exception to the fact that even before a petition challenging the decision of the Maharashtra government to set up an Inter-Faith Marriage Family Coordination Committee was heard by the Court, it had been widely reported in the media. [Rais Shaikh v State of Maharashtra]..A Division Bench of Justices GS Patel and Neela Gokhale observed,“How is it that even before we have seen this petition, every media person has seen it? If you want to test this in media forum, then don’t waste our time. Every media forum has seen this. If you want them to decide, we couldn’t care less.".The Court noted that the plea was in the nature of a public interest litigation (PIL), which it was not assigned to hear. The matter was thus directed to be placed before the Acting Chief Justice. “Roster is defined by Acting Chief Justice. It is set by him...It has been held that when a matter is taken up outside roster, the decision is rendered in nullity,” the Bench said, granting the petitioner liberty to convert the plea into a PIL.“Prima facie, this petition is in the nature of PIL. Other than name and address of petitioner, there is no statement of fact about the petitioner. The petitioner is not concerned with subject matter. He may have public interest but then it is open to him to take it up in appropriate manner,” the Court ordered..The petition was filed by Samajwadi Party Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Rais Shaikh.The Inter-Faith Marriage Family Coordination Committee comprising nearly 13 members is to be headed by BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who has been in the news for his statements on Hindus facing threats in a Muslim-dominated area of Mumbai.The Committee will obtain information from registrars on the number of registered marriages of couples under the Special Marriage Act or inter-faith marriages, as also from places of worship where such marriages have taken place.It seeks to get in touch with the women in such marriages to know whether their families have accepted the marriage. With this information, the Committee will communicate with the families of such women and hold counselling sessions for them to accept the marriage..Shaikh alleged that the government resolution (GR) was an attempt by the State to discourage and forbid inter-faith marriages, and is a pre-cursor to laws related to alleged 'Love Jihad' marriages.His lawyer contended that the formation of the Committee was violative of Article 14 (right to equality), Article 15 (forbidding discrimination), 21 (right to life which includes the right to privacy), and 25 (right to freedom of religion) of the Constitution of India.In the plea filed through Advocate Jeet Gandhi, the MLA has sought a direction to the State to withdraw the said GR and declare that the same is in violation of the provisions of the Special Marriage Act.