Bilaspur: The Chhattisgarh High Court has granted the state government three weeks to file its objections and counter-affidavit in a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Act, 2026. The petition has been filed by V.N. Prasad Rao.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra and Justice Santosh Sharma passed the order while hearing the matter.
During the proceedings, Government Advocate Rahul Tamaskar, appearing for the State of Chhattisgarh, informed the court that several other writ petitions raising similar issues concerning the constitutional validity of the Act were already pending before the High Court. He sought three weeks to submit the state’s formal response.
Advocate for the petitioner requested the court to consider the interim application separately after granting the state a short adjournment to prepare its response.
Accepting the request, the Bench directed the state government to file its objections to the interim application, if any, along with its counter-affidavit to the main writ petition within three weeks.
The court clarified that both the petitioner and the state government would have an opportunity to present their arguments on the prayer for interim relief at the next hearing. The matter has been directed to be listed immediately after the expiry of the three-week period.
The order concerns the procedural progress of the constitutional challenge. The High Court has not yet ruled on the validity of the challenged provisions or the petitioner’s request for interim relief. The next hearing will provide an opportunity for both sides to address the interim application after the state files its response.
