The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a plea seeking directions to the Centre to forfeit the ‘Padma Shri’ award conferred on a person for allegedly using it as a prefix to his name.
The High Court said the matter did not require interference as a show-cause notice has already been issued by the government to the person seeking his explanation on the issue.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Ivan Barry Trayling, a member of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, alleging that Gulshan Rai, a Padma Shri awardee, has been using the conferment as a prefix or suffix to his name, which is not permissible.
Mr. Rai, who is the president of the club, was conferred Padma Shri for circumnavigating the world on his yacht, Jaykus II.
The government had also earlier said the national awards such as Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri “do not amount to titles within the meaning of Article 18[1] of the Constitution and thus are not to be used as prefixes or suffixes to the name of the recipient in any manner whatsoever”.