Haj subsidy has to go

Haj subsidy has to go, SC tells govt

The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the central government's policy of providing subsidies to Haj pilgrims travelling to 

Saudi Arabia.

The Apex Court has asked the government to phase out the subsidy policy in 10 years.

The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by the government which challenged a Bombay high court judgement directing the Ministry of External Affairs to allow certain private operators to operate the services of 800 of the 11,000 pilgrims earmarked under the VIP quota subsidised by the government.

The Supreme Court judgment said: "We hold that this policy (giving subsidies to Haj pilgrims) is best done away with. The Centre has to eliminate the policy of Haj subsidies over a period of 10 years. The Centre has to reduce the number of its representatives to be sent along with Haj delegations."

The court said that it will examine how the Haj Committee of India functions and what is the selection process for it adopts to send pilgrims for the Haj.

The government had informed the Supreme Court last month that it would restrict Haj pilgrimage at government subsidy to Muslims only as a 'once in a lifetime' affair as against the existing policy of 'once in five years'.

The government, in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, had said that its new guidelines would ensure that those who have never performed the Haj would be given priority. Also, priority would be given to those applicants who are over 70 years of age and also to those who had unsuccessfully applied three times earlier for the subsidy.

The government had then decided to go ahead with the annual Haj subsidy in 2012 despite demands from certain quarters, including Muslim groups, that the subsidy should be ended as it was 'un-Islamic'.

Earlier, the bench had also rapped the government for 'politicising' the annual Haj pilgrimage by permitting official delegations to accompany pilgrims, for which the government offers huge subsidy, saying, 

'It's a bad religious practice.'

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had earlier stated that the Centre was having a rethink on whether to continue with the subsidy or to do away with it.