NEW DELHI: The case registered in relation to the alleged violation of Covid-19 protocols at Nizamuddin Markaz, where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March last year amid the pandemic is serious and has cross-border implications, the Centre told the Delhi High Court which on Monday remarked that the premises can’t be kept locked forever.
Justice Mukta Gupta, who was hearing the Delhi Waqf Board’s plea to re-open the Markaz which has remained shut since March 31 last year, questioned the centre as to how long it intended to keep the Nizamuddin Markaz locked, saying it can’t be ‘kept forever’.
Counsel for the central government statedthat a legal action to re-open the Markaz can only be initiated by the lessee of the property.
“Only on legal view, the petition can be disposed of. The Waqf Board has no power to overstep the lessee,” said Rajat Nair, the counsel for the Centre.
The court issued notice on an application filed by a member of the managing committee of the Markaz in question for his impleadment and allowed the board to file its reply to the Centre’s affidavit and posted the matter for further hearing on November 16.