Aryan Grover
In the month of Ramzan, the High Court of Delhi has permitted fifty people to offer prayers five times a day at the Nizamuddin centre. It noted that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority’s (DDMA) notification gave no direction to shut down places of worship.
Justice Mukta Gupta allowed for prayers to be offered in strict adherence to the DDMA’s notification and other standard operating procedures. The prayers may be offered on the first floor above the basement of the mosque.
The High Court commented that the Central government is yet to clarify its stance on whether religious congregations and gatherings are permitted in other places of worship. The court stated, “Considering the fact that religious places/places of worship are not closed by the DDMA notification, this court finds that the petitioner (Delhi Waqf Board) has made out a prima facie case for permitting devotees to offer namaz at Masjid Bangley Wali.”
The Station House Officer of the Nizamuddin police station was directed to permit entry of only 50 people, 5 times a day to offer namaz, which was to be permitted only on the first floor of Masjid Bangley Wali.
Maintaining its stance to open the mosque only to a part of the public, the court stated, “Considering the fact that devotees require to perform namaz five times a day during the holy month of Ramzan and at the same time care has to be taken that COVID-19, which is increasing exponentially in Delhi, does not spread and does not affect the health of the public at large and those who will visit the mosque to offer namaz.”
The request to increase the number of people offering prayers was thus declined, stating, “Day by day, situation is getting worse in Delhi”.
