more-in Noting that the constitution of the Sahitya Akademi has no provision to take back the prestigious Sahitya Akademi award once given, the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed in the wake of several awardees returning the honour in protest against “intolerance” or communal incidents. Forego royalties A Bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal dismissed the plea seeking directions to the Centre to frame guidelines to ensure that anyone returning the award must also forego a portion of royalties or earnings accrued by the awardee. ‘Tarnishes India’s image’ The Centre had submitted that there was no need for any such guideline as the Executive Board of the Sahitya Academi took cognizance of some awardees returning the award in its 187th meeting on December 17, 2015, and held that the Akademi’s constitution does not provide for taking back the prestigious award once given. “...having taken into consideration the specific plea of the Respondents (Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Sahitya Akademi) in the counter affidavit that Sahitya Akademi's Constitution does not provide for taking back any award once given, we are of the view that the issue sought to be raised by the petitioners deserves no further consideration by this Court and it is not a matter for issuing a mandamus to the Respondents to frame guidelines as sought by the petitioners,” the court said while dismissing the petition. The petition by Jamaat-e-Ulama-e-Hind; and Haji Mohammad Majid Qureshi, an advocate from Madhya Pradesh, was filed after some writers returned their awards to protest communal incidents such as the killing of Kannada writer M. M. Kalburgi and lynching in Dadri over rumours of beef consumption. The plea stated that the action of returning the prestigious award had the effect of tarnishing India’s image.

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