The previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government under Uddhav Thackeray had decided to rename both Aurangabad and Osmanabad in its cabinet meeting of June 29, 2021.
Aurangabad city and revenue division were renamed as ‘Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’ while Osmanabad was renamed as ‘Dharashiv’.
The new government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on July 16, 2022 re-affirmed the decision of the MVA government.
Post this, a clutch of petitions came to be filed before the High Court by individuals including the residents of the respective districts.
The Maharashtra government claimed that the change in the name of ‘Osmanabad’ to ‘Dharashiv’ neither led to any religious or communal hatred nor did it cause any rift between religious groups.
The High Court rejected the petitions leading to the appeal before the top court.
Source: Barandbench
