Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has welcomed the Bombay High Court (HC) ruling on renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv, respectively, and said those opposed to the move were linked to the opposition MVA.
“The Bombay High Court has given recognition to the renaming of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv. The dream of (Shiv Sena founder) late Balasaheb Thackeray has been fulfilled. Some of the people who opposed this decision and went to the court were from the MVA,” Shinde stated.
“This (court ruling) is a lesson for those who opposed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s renaming. The city of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Balasaheb Thackeray shared a deep bond. Those who were in the government for two-and-a-half years took the renaming decision at the very last moment after our revolt, but it was illegal,” he added.
On Wednesday, May 8, the Bombay HC dismissed the petitions challenging Maharashtra government's decision to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad. The court maintained it by saying: "What's in a name?"
The panel, which included Justice Arif Doctor and Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, rejected the pleas on the grounds that the government's announcement of the renaming did not call for any intervention.
The bench recited a famous statement from Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, which stated that the essence of a place or object remains unchanged, whatever its name.
In order to ensure the credibility of the renaming process, the high court underlined that the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code permits the governing authority to rename revenue regions. In addition, the court declared that unless the proposed name is considered "atrocious," it does not have the authority to decide cases involving name changes.
The state government's notification renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad is valid and does not violate any laws, stated the bench. It made this decision without hesitation.
The bench during the hearing said that calling a rose by any other name would smell as sweet as it does. As to by what name a particular object or place is to be known, it cannot be judicially reviewed unless the name so proposed is atrocious.
Citing political reasons, Aurangabad and Osmanabad residents filed petitions opposing the name changes. Instead of citing political reasons, the government used historical context to support the decisions.
Based on their historical significance, Aurangabad and Osmanabad were renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv in 2022 by the Maharashtra cabinet, which was headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The Union Home Ministry gave its approval in February 2023, which prompted the state administration to publish a gazette notice.
In their affidavit, the government informed the high court that the state government had followed all the legal requirements in order to implement the name change. The choice to rename Osmanabad as Dharashiv avoids inciting animosity amongst religious groups or fostering communal or religious enmity.
According to the story that is mentioned in the Skand Puran, the goddess Saraswati destroyed the demon Dharasur, who lived in the village of Dharashiv. Because of this goddess, Saraswati was referred to as Dharasur Mardini, and the village's name was changed to Dharashiv. From ancient times, the village of Dharashiv has been recognised as such, the affidavit further added.
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