Donald Trump's 'Muslim Travel Ban' Upheld by US Supreme Court
The state of Hawaii, which was the prime challenger in the case, said Trump's policy discriminated on grounds of religion, which violates the 'founding principles of the US democracy'.
Washington, June 26: In a major win for US President Donald Trump, the Federal Supreme Court has ruled in his favour on the controversial 'Muslim travel ban'. The court, which was hearing the petition filed by the State of Hawaii and three Muslim immigrants, upheld the contentious presidential order of September 2017 which banned the entry of migrants, as well as tourists, from five Muslim-majority nations - Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen - along with the two US adversaries - Venezuela and North Korea.
The landmark judgement was issued by the Chief Justice of US Supreme Court, John Roberts, who headed a nine-judge bench. The verdict, which saw the judiciary, divided at 5:4, saw Roberts leaning in the favour of President's counsel.
"The [order] is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices," Roberts wrote in his judgement, further adding that the presidential decree says nothing explicitly about religion.
The petitioners, however, had cited the pre-election tweets and speeches of Trump when he promised to ban the entry of Muslims in America.
The state of Hawaii, which was the prime challenger in the case, said Trump's policy discriminated on grounds of religion, which violates the "founding principles of the US democracy".
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2018 08:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).