Bombay HC: Targeting migrants is against Constitution

MUMBAI: The Bombay HC has reminded workers that it will not pay to target non-Maharashtrians and prevent them from working in the state. Justice D Y Chandrachud recently prevented the entry of a worker into a Pune factory after he was chargesheeted for threatening the management for employing a person from outside Maharashtra. "India is a secular republic. The fabric of the nation as a cohesive and stable entity cannot be disrupted on the pursuit of a narrow exclusionary agenda," the judge said, stressing, "Excluding persons from outside the state from residing in the state and pursuing lawful avocations is fundamentally contrary to the constitutional guarantee of free movement of citizens throughout India." Censuring any move that smacks of discrimination, Justice Chandrachud said, "The court will be justified in not extending the protective arm of its constitutional jurisdiction to those who practise a doctrine of hatred against those who have settled here from outside the state."
16 Jun 2008, 0113 hrs IST, Swati Deshpande,TNN
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