Moscow, Dec 28: A court in Russia today dismissed the plea to ban Bhagavad Gita.
Earlier, the court today began its final hearing in a state prosecutors' case seeking a ban on the Bhagavad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, and branding it as “extremist” literature.
The Siberian court is scheduled to hear the views of the Russian human rights ombudsman on the Bhagavad Gita and upholding the rights of minority Hindus, before it delivers its verdict, Hindu petitioners told IANS over phone from Tomsk city in Russia.
The court had posted the hearing for Wednesday in its earlier sitting Dec 19 after Hindus pleaded with the judge that the human rights panel of the nation be heard first.
An "anti-cult" group affiliated to the Russian Orthodox Church, has called for a ban on the Gita terming it an 'extremist' text. And the verdict can have far reaching repercussions - either way.
An expert panel was constituted to examine if the text incites religious hatred and humiliation.
This is not the first time that the Bhagavad Gita has been involved in a court case.
"There were two others in a Moscow court, but Moscow being more cosmopolitan, these cases were dismissed. This one time, they have gone ahead and pressed charges and it has come to court for hearing in Tomsk," said Swami Bhakti Vigyan.
