Bengaluru, Sept. 16 -- India is a "secular" nation, the Karnataka high court said on Monday as it dismissed a batch of three petitions, including one filed by BJP leader Pratap Simha, opposing the Congress-led state government's decision to invite Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the historic Dasara celebrations in Mysuru later this month. A bench of chief justice Vibhu Bakhru and justice CM Joshi dismissed Simha's petition after holding that it was not persuaded by his argument that a person of another faith cannot be invited as chief guest for a state function. The court held that no legal or constitutional rights of the petitioner had been violated by the state government's decision, and took note of the submissions made by advocate general Shashi Kiran Shetty, who appeared for the state government and argued Dasara is a state festival where people of all communities participate. Simha, through his counsel advocate S Sudharsan, had argued that Dasara was a predominantly Hindu festival and only someone of Hindu faith should inaugurate it. He had cited alleged "anti-Kannada remarks" made by Mushtaq in a public speech two years ago, and contended that inviting a non-Hindu to participate in rituals was contrary to cultural traditions. The court, however, questioned how provisions of Article 26 of the Constitution, which guarantees every religious denomination the freedom to manage its own religious affairs, were being violated. It noted that no temple or temple trustee had challenged the decision and no property or religious rights were affected by the State's decision to invite Mushtaq. "This is a secular State. You tell us how is Article 26 attracted," the court asked Simha. "We are not persuaded to accept that permitting persons of different faith to the function organised by the state violates any legal or constitutional right of petitioners," it said....