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Jaipur,
August 24, 2007: An Udaipur court has ruled that bal deeksha (child
sainthood) does not construe as a crime in Jain religion and
dismissed the petition filed by two advocates in this regard.
In his ruling, chief Judicial magistrate (CJM), Brijendra
Kumar Jain said that if parents send their children to Jain acharyas
then it does not come under the category of orphans.
A petition was recently filed in the Udaipur court by
advocates Hukam Raj Singh and Kanyia Lal. The petitioners
accuse the parants of four children of village Semad in the Udaipur
district of leaving them (children) for deeksha to Jain acharayas on
May 2, 2007. They pleaded that it was a crime in the eyes of law.
The Judge said, it is not a crime if the children are left
for deeksha by their parents which is fully permissible in Janism.
Every citizen of India is free to adopt any religion of his or her
choice, he added.
The Judge said that to leave the children for deeksha has
been prevalent since ages, which should not be be compared with the
category of orphans.
He added that it has got no relevance with the age of a
person who attains it, the judge ruled. The judge made
abundantly it clear that it was the moral and legal responsibilities
of the petitioners, who were also advocates, to study the Jain
religion prior to filing the case in the court.
The judge said, "The accused made in this case by
the advocates are free to proceed legality against them."
Source: Hindustan Times
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