Today, the Supreme Court of India rejected a petition seeking to declare Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti as a national holiday.

A division bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta rejected the plea filed by the All India Shiromani Singh Sabha in 2021. In the said matter, the petition had asked the Court to direct the Centre and the States to declare a public holiday across the country on the birth anniversary of the tenth Sikh Guru.

During the hearing, Justice Mehta orally observed that India already has numerous religious holidays and that there is no need to add more.

The petition had also sought directions to the Central and State governments to frame clear guidelines for declaring public or gazetted holidays.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, argued that there is currently no clear policy governing how such holidays are declared. He submitted that the Union government should respond and come up with a policy on the issue.

However, the Bench declined to entertain the request and dismissed the petition. The Court said that a detailed judgment in the matter will be issued later.