No guidelines against award return: Delhi HC

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, March 27

The Delhi High Court today refused to direct the Centre to frame guidelines for protecting the honour of Sahitya Akademi Awards by preventing recipients from returning the awards, citing growing intolerance or other reasons.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal ruled that there was no need for issuing a mandamus to the government as the Akademi had clarified there was no provision for returning the awards.

The judgment came on a PIL by Haji Mohd Majid Qureshi and another seeking to prevent the Akademi award winners from tarnishing India’s image outside the country by returning their awards in protest against the alleged atmosphere of intolerance. The petitioners had pleaded that those returning the awards should be forced to return part of the royalties and other earnings accrued to them after the awards were conferred on them.