The Supreme Court of India has refused to hear a plea challenging the decision to rename the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra to 'Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar'. The court stated that the Bombay High Court is already handling the matter and instructed the petitioner to appear before the high court. The petitioner, Mohammed Mushtaq Ahmed, had challenged the approval granted by the state and central governments for the name change.
The proposal to rename Aurangabad to 'Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar' was put forward by the Aurangabad Divisional Commissioner in a letter dated March 4, 2020. The decision to rename the city has been a contentious issue, with some groups opposing the change citing historical reasons, while others have supported it, arguing that the new name honors a Maratha warrior king.
During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the state government informed the bench that the high court is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday, March 27. The Supreme Court directed that the matter should be decided by the Bombay High Court first, and therefore refused to entertain the plea.
The petitioner had challenged the approval granted by the Union of India and the State of Maharashtra to rename Aurangabad city, citing a similar attempt in 1996 that was also challenged in the Supreme Court. However, the state government later withdrew the notification, rendering the matter moot. The present attempt was challenged through a PIL pending in the High Court of Bombay, but the Union of India granted approval to the proposed change, ignoring the pending petition.