By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The High Court on Friday refused to stay the Iftar dinner to be hosted by it for poor Muslims at Lal Bahadur Stadium here and mosques across the state on June 18. Iftar will be hosted at 380 mosques in Hyderabad and 420 elsewhere in the state.

A division bench of acting chief justice Ramesh Ranganathan and justice T Rajani, while dealing with a PIL filed by Lubna Sarwath, wondered how it could intervene in government’s decision to provide benefits and concessions to various sections of society. Moreover, it said, it cannot grant stay at the eleventh hour.

The bench, however, directed the government to feed only the needy poor Muslims and give away Ramzan gift packets or benefits to deserving poor Muslims. Petitioner’s counsel R Sameer Ahmed said the government was spending minority welfare department’s funds in the name of Iftar dinners. Last year, ` 3 lakh was spent just on invitation cards and car passes.

“Iftar dinners are meant to feed poor Muslims who observe fast during Ramzan but the government has been feeding rich people in the name of such dinners. About ` 60 crore is allocated for this year’s dinner,” he said.

The bench said the GO on it said the gift packs would be for poor Muslims, and wanted to know how the government would identify poor Muslims. Additional advocate-general J Ramchandra Rao said the benefits would go only to eligible orphans, destitutes, widows and poor Muslims.

Local mosque committees, elected public representatives and officers concerned would verify Aadhaar and ration cards to identify the eligible. While adjourning the case, the bench asked the government to file a report within three weeks giving details of the number of poor Muslims who partook of the dinner and the recipients of gifts, and the expenditure incurred.