Bhubaneswar, March 29 -- The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the fundamental right to freedom of religion does not entitle individuals to demand a public holiday on religious occasions. The observation came while dismissing a Public Interest Litigation seeking a nationwide gazetted holiday for the birth anniversary (Prakash Parv) of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta held that decisions regarding the declaration of public holidays and framing a uniform policy fall within the domain of the executive, not the judiciary.

The petitioner had argued that the current system of declaring public holidays lacks a statutory framework and is governed by executive instructions. It was further conten...