BALAJI RAGHAVAN V. UNION OF INDIA (1996) 1 SC 361

BALAJI RAGHAVAN V. UNION OF INDIA (1996) 1 SC 361

 

FACTS

Two petitions were filed by the petitioners in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. The petitions were filed separately in the high courts under Article 226 of the Constitution, sought, by way of a writ of mandamus, to prevent the respondent from conferring any of the National Awards.

 

ISSUE

The issue pertaining to the current case was whether the Awards i.e. Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri (hereinafter called "The National Awards") are "Titles" within the meaning of Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India

 

JUDGEMENT AND ANALYSIS

1. It was held by this Hon'ble court that the national awards like "Bharat Ratna: Padma Vibhushan etc” awarded by the Government of India, are not titles within the meaning of the Article 18(1). This court observed that these awards aren’t violative of the principles of equality as guaranteed by Articles  14 and 18. It examined that
1. “The theory of equality does not mandate that merit should not be recognized. Article 51A of the Constitution speaks of the fundamental duties of every citizen of India. In this context, we may refer to the various clauses of Article 51A and specifically clause (i) which exhorts every citizen "to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity, so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement". It is, there-fore, necessary that there should be a system of awards and decorations to recognize excellence in the performance of these duties.”
2. However, this court observed that awards conferred by the state shouldn’t be used as suffixes or prefixes. The Court has also suggested that the Prime Minister in consultation with the President should appoint a high level committee to lay down criteria for selection of persons for these awards. For instance, justice Kudip Singh mentioned "Conferment of Padma awards without any firm guidelines and foolproof method of selection is bound to breed nepotism, favouritism, patronage and even corruption”.