The Allahabad High Court on Saturday dismissed the Uttar Pradesh administration’s decision to limit the number of worshippers allowed to offer namaz during Ramzan at a mosque in Sambhal.
The local administration had permitted only 20 people to pray inside the mosque during the holy month, citing possible law and order concerns.
While hearing a petition filed by Munazir Khan, a bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan rejected the state government’s justification for imposing the restriction.
Khan had alleged that he was prevented from offering prayers during Ramzan at Gate number 291, where the mosque is located.
“We outrightly reject the contention put forth by the learned counsel for the State. It is the duty of the State to ensure that the rule of law prevails under every circumstance,” the bench observed.
The court also said that if local authorities believe civil unrest could arise due to a large number of worshippers, they should resign or seek transfer if they are unable to manage the situation.
“If the local authorities, ie, Superintendent of Police and Collector, feel that the law and order situation could arise because of which they want to limit the number of worshippers within the premises, they should either resign from their post or seek transfer outside Sambhal if they feel they are not competent enough to enforce the rule of law,” the bench said.
The High Court further stated that it is the responsibility of the state to ensure every community can worship peacefully at designated places of prayer. It clarified that state permission is required only when religious activities take place on public land or extend to public property.
During the hearing, the state’s counsel argued that the land mentioned in the revenue records belonged to Mohan Singh and Bhooraj Singh. After the court noted that the petitioner had not submitted photographs proving the mosque’s existence, Khan said he would file an additional affidavit with photographs and revenue records showing where the namaz is offered.
The state government sought time from the court to obtain further instructions regarding the matter.