Mysuru Dasara row: Supreme Court rejects plea over Banu Mushtaq invite

A petition before the Supreme Court challenged the invitation to Booker Prize winner Bhanu Mushtaq, a non-Hindu, to inaugurate the Mysore Dasara festival. The petitioner argued, "There is no reason for a non-Hindu to be brought into the temple for a religious function, and this is against our religious rights." The plea contended that the inaugural ceremony includes a puja at the Chamundeshwari temple, and the involvement of a non-Hindu would hurt religious sentiments. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, affirming an earlier Karnataka High Court decision. The court noted that the inauguration of Mysore Dasara is a secular ceremony and a state function. It clarified that the state cannot differentiate between individuals based on their religion for such events and that courts cannot interfere in the state's decision-making process for these functions.