LUCKNOW: UP government informed the Allahabad High Court that the refusal to allow 'Jeth Mela' was not any interference in the religious practices at the shrine.
The government decided to cancel the annual 'Jeth Mela' in memory of Sayyad Salar Masood Ghazi at his shrine in Bahraich in central UP.
Moreover, the state government clarified that the restrictions applied solely to the Mela held outside the Dargah premises, which was primarily commercial in nature, involving the allotment of temporary shops on rent.
The court was also informed that the district administration was unable to provide necessary infrastructure and ensure a secure environment for the month-long Mela, which, as per the intelligence inputs, could lead to serious law and order situation.
Hence, the permission was denied, however, the same had nothing to do with the religious activities inside the Dargah.
The state government represented by Additional Chief Standing Counsel Rajesh made the submissions before the division bench of High Court comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla.
They were hearing the writ petition filed by the Management Committee of Dargah Sharif in Bahraich and four other UP residents over the decision of the district administration to refuse permission for the Mela, citing law and order concerns.
The petitioners were represented by Advocate Lalta Prasad Misra and Sayyad Hussain, who claimed that the Mela was a long-standing tradition and had been a state-recognised Mela since 1987 and was central to the faith of lakhs of devotees, including both Hindus and Muslims.
The petitioners, however, rejected the argument of the administration over the law and order concerns, calling it baseless, maintaining that ensuring public order was the duty of the district administration.
Significantly, the bench was told by the petitioners that the Dargah committee had not sought formal permission to hold the Mela. It had only urged the district administration to convene a joint meeting of officials concerned to plan the event.
The petitioners also pointed out that Devi Patan Mela was organised in neighbouring Balrampur peacefully recently with the help of the district administration. The event was attended by the UP CM as well.
On the contrary, the state government counsel submitted that the dargah committee has sent the letter for making necessary arrangements for the Mela and it was in that context that the relevant reports were requisitioned from the officials concerned and based on the inputs provided by them, including the LIU, the decision to cancel the Mela was taken.
However, after the submissions, the bench observed that the arrangements for the Mela were the responsibility of the local administration and since they had expressed the inability to provide necessary facilities and maintain law and order, it would not be possible to assess the arbitrariness of the decision unless affidavits were not filed by the opposing parties.
The court, while posting the matter for next hearing on May 12, also denied petitioner’s plea for an interim relief as it noted that it was the local administration which was best suited to take a considered decision as to how far it would be able to cope with the situation.