Supreme Court Rejects Plea That Sought to Declare Spiritual Leader as 'God'

The Supreme Court has seen a spate of unusual pleas as of late. Weeks ago, the apex court dismissed a man's petition to be appointed as the president of India.

The Supreme Court of India on Monday rubbished a plea that sought to name a spiritual leader belonging to a particular community as the supreme being, or "Paramatma."

"India is a secular country and the petitioner cannot be permitted to pray that the citizens of India may accept Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra as Paramatma," a bench comprising Justices M.R. Shah and C.T. Ravikumar said in the order.

Labeling it a "publicity interest litigation," the country's top judicial body penalized the petitioner, named Upendra Nath Dalai, in the amount of ₹100,000 ($1,224).

Dalai has been asked to deposit the penalty amount within the stipulated time frame of four weeks or else he will face contempt proceedings.

Dalai was present in-person and argued in favor of declaring Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra as the supreme deity of all citizens of India.

Irked by his argument, the bench quipped, "If you want, you can consider him as Paramatma. Why enforce it on others? We are not here to listen to your lecture. We are a secular country."

"You are saying that everyone should accept your leader. How can that be? In India, everyone has a right to choose their religion, their God," it concluded.