Justice Thakur tilted scales in key cases banning divisive election appeals

He was clear that religion, race, caste, community cannot play any role in the electoral process

January 2, 2017 is likely to be remembered as another ‘Kesavanand Bharati’ moment in the history of the Indian Supreme Court both for the significance of the judgment prohibiting communal appeals for votes and the manner in which the judges split.

Although the judges explicitly noted during their hearing that they did not intend to review the court’s controversial 1995 ‘Hindutva/Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life’ judgment, Monday’s ruling will make it more difficult for politicians to get away with making appeals for votes on grounds of religion.

In Kesavanand Bharati, six judges voted in favour of the