A.S. Oka, J.

1. Notice for final disposal at the admission stage was issued on 12th March 2014. A very interesting issue is raised by the Petitioners. The contention of the Petitioners is that the State cannot compel any citizen to disclose his religion while submitting forms and/or declarations. The contention is that a citizen has a right to claim that he does not believe in the philosophy of any religion and therefore, he does not practice or profess any religion. The contention in short is that a citizen can always claim that he belongs to “No Religion”.

2. The Petitioners claim to be the members of a registered organization by the name “Full Gospel Church of God” which is stated to have more than 4,000 members. The Union of India and the State of Maharashtra are the Respondents. The case made out in the Petition is that the said organization does believe in the existence of Lord Jesus Christ, but does not believe in any religion much less Christianity. The contention of the Petitioners is that the said organization believes that the Lord Jesus Christ desired to have a kingdom of heaven and did not intend to form any religion. The contention of the Petitioners is th