The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to respond to a petition that has challenged the state’s decision to rename Allahabad city as Prayagraj, a move Allahabad High Court had upheld.

Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices Bhushan Gavai and Surya Kant issued notice to the state on the petition the Allahabad Heritage Society had filed through advocate Shadan Farasat.

The petitioner has contended the decision to rename Allahabad went against the country’s “secular” ethos. The high court, it was submitted, had on February 26, 2019, erroneously upheld the decision.

The high court had ruled the new name did not violate public interest and courts could not interfere with such policy decisions. The Yogi Adityanath government had renamed Allahabad in November 2018, saying the name had been given by Mughal emperor Akbar, and it had merely restored the original name.