In a recent development, the Karnataka High Court refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought directives for the state government to consider a proposal for a separate flag for Karnataka. The decision was made by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind on Friday.
The petition, filed by Bimappa Gundappa Gadad from Belagavi, was dismissed as it did not align with the scope of public interest litigation or fall within the jurisdiction of the court. Chief Justice Anjaria and Justice Aravind categorized the plea as misconceived, underscoring that the grievance did not merit the court’s intervention.
Gadad, in his petition, stated that he had been advocating for a separate flag for Karnataka since 2014 and had approached government authorities multiple times. His plea was bolstered in 2015 when the then Advocate-General opined that there was no legal barrier to adopting a separate state flag. Following this, the state government even constituted a committee to explore this possibility.
However, Gadad expressed frustration over the lack of transparency and communication from the government regarding the committee’s findings or any decisions taken. He alleged that the outcomes of the committee’s deliberations were not made public, nor was any information conveyed to him.
