Soni Satti
The Delhi High Court has observed that there cannot be a set list of devotees permitted to join the Nizamuddin Markaz when no other religious place has such rules.
The court dismissed the Centre’s and Delhi Police’s request that only 20 people from a police-verified list of 200 be able to access the premises for prayers at a time.
Justice Mukta Gupta observed, “It is an open place. They don’t have fixed devotees and no other religious place has…,”
He further added,
“A 200-people list is not acceptable; that cannot be. Yes, you will make the exact area of the mosque, how much it is and tell me, as per social distancing norms, how many people can come in that mosque and so we will permit that only at a time only this much number will be there. Nobody can give the name. No religious place be asked for the names…,”
The Centre’s advocate, Rajat Nair, previously told the court that while a list of 200 people can be submitted to the police, only 20 people are allowed to enter the mosque at a time to comply with social distancing norms.
The Delhi Waqf Board, represented by senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, assured the court that they would obey all protocols, but that compiling such a list will be difficult.
The court directed the local Station house officer (SHO) to supervise an inspection of the mosque to decide the number of people who may deliver prayers in compliance with social distancing laws and DDMA guidelines.
