LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed issuance of contempt notices to the Bareilly District Magistrate (DM) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for not complying with its January order stating that no permission was required for holding religious prayer meetings on private premises.
The court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Tariq Khan seeking permission to offer namaz on his private premises as the month of Ramzan was approaching.
The petitioner, when asked why such a plea was filed, apprised the court that police had picked up 12 men last month for allegedly offering namaz on the same premises.
The petitioner’s lawyer Rajesh Kumar Gautam submitted that the petitioner had challenged the decision of the DM and SSP to reject his application seeking permission to offer namaz on his private premises.
On hearing the matter, the court directed issuance of notices to the DM and SSP under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
The division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice SA Siddharth Nandan said: “Learned counsel for the State is requested to seek instructions in this case… Till the next date of listing, coercive proceedings against the petitioner shall remain stayed.”
The matter was posted for next hearing on March 11.
In its order passed on January 27, the HC was hearing a plea that sought permission to hold a religious congregation within its private property.
The petitioner had said despite making several representations to the authorities, permission was not granted.
The court observed that the petitioner had the right to conduct the prayer, as per convenience, on his own private premises without any permission from the state government. If the congregation spilled over onto a public road or public property, it said the petitioner should intimate police and seek requisite permission under the law.
The court also stated that the manner in which protection, if required, was to be provided was within the discretion of the State. “However, it is a concomitant duty on the State to ensure that property, rights and life of the petitioner are protected at all cost. How this is done is entirely the discretion of the police.”
In January, Bareilly Police said it had received information that a group was using a private premises at Mohammadganj village to offer namaz, and detained 12 people. Advocate Gautam claimed the residents were booked under CrPC Section 151 for breach of peace.