The Gujarat High Court issued a notice to the state government and other concerned parties, including the Additional Chief Secretary of the state's home department, in a public interest litigation (PIL) while hearing demanding a special law to combat the menace of superstition and black magic in Gujarat.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi asked for a response from the government on this matter and has scheduled further hearings for the coming days.

It was highlighted in the PIL that there has been a significant rise in incidents of superstition and black magic in Gujarat, and there are no legal provisions to identify or curb these practices. Other states like Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Assam have anti-superstition laws, but Gujarat is yet to enact such laws.

To ensure the safety and trust of the people, it is necessary to implement such a law in Gujarat. The petitioner also cited several sensitive cases related to superstition and black magic.

The petitioner argued that people from backward and tribal communities are more often victims of superstition, black magic, and similar practices, but people from other sections of society are also affected in various ways.

In Maharashtra, the Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice, other Inhuman, Evil, Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act was enacted. This law was promulgated through an ordinance just four days after the murder of Narendra Dabholkar, the founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, and later passed by the legislature.

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