In its verdict on May 8, the Supreme Court had directed the government to phase out Haj subsidy within a period of 10 years, saying that this amount can be more profitably used for social and educational development of the Muslim community…..
A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai had quoted Quran to justify doing away with the subsidy, which was around Rs 685 crores in 2011, noting that many Muslims would not be very “comfortable” to know that their Haj is funded to a large extent by the government.
A number of prominent Muslim leaders had welcomed the court’s order, saying that the subsidy was not exactly benefitting the community and the funds given in subsidy should be allocated for improving the educational and living standards….
Access the judgement text here
