Delhi HC refuses to entertain petition seeking Bharat Ratna to Ratan Tata

|HT|

The Delhi high court on Thursday refused to entertain a petition seeking the award of a Bharat Ratna to industrialist Ratan Tata. The public interest litigation (PIL) sought to direct the government to award India's highest civilian honour to Ratan Tata. However, a bench headed by acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi dismissed the PIL and said the court could not pass such an order. "What kind of a petition is this? Is this for the court to direct?" the bench declared.

The petitioner - who said he was a social worker - then urged the court to 'at least request' the government to confer the award on Tata. To this the bench said, "Go make the request. Where is the question of the court stepping in?"

The petitioner had argued 'Ratan Tata deserves Bharat Ratna as he is serving the nation and has an unblemished life'.

The petition was withdrawn after the court warned it would dismiss the same with costs.

Tata Trust chairman Ratan Tata was awarded the Padma Vibhushan - India's second-highest civilian award - in 2008 and the Padma Bhushan - India's third-higher civilian award - in 2000. Tata's fans, however, have since demanded the Bharat Ratna and held campaigns on social media. In February last year, Tata urged his followers to discontinue such campaigns.

"While I appreciate the sentiments expressed by a section of the social media in terms of an award, I would humbly like to request that such campaigns be discontinued. Instead, I consider myself fortunate to be an Indian and to try and contribute to India's growth and prosperity," he wrote. Industrialist Ratan Tata joined the Tata group in 1962. He was named as the Chairman of Tata Industries in 1981. He was chairman of Tata Sons - the company of the Tata group - from 1991 to 2012. Post his retirement, the highly-respected industrialist was conferred with the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Tata Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and Tata Chemicals.

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