LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court said the State was duty-bound to ensure that every community was able to hold prayers peacefully at a designated place of worship or on private property without requiring official permission.
A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddharth Nandan, taking a stern view of the local administration’s decision to limit the number of Muslim worshippers at a mosque in Sambhal, emphasised that it was the State’s responsibility to ensure that the rule of law prevailed in every circumstance.
“It is the duty of the State to ensure that every community is able to offer worship peacefully in the designated place of worship and, if it is private property, as already held by the Court earlier, to perform worship without any permission from the State,” the bench said.
The court added that it had already settled that permission from the State was required only when prayers or religious functions were to be held on public land or if they spilled over onto public property.
The court was hearing a petition alleging that State authorities were preventing Muslims from attending prayers at a mosque during the ongoing Ramzan.
However, the court noted that the petitioner had failed to submit photographs of the mosque. The observation came in view of the State’s submission that there was a dispute regarding the ownership of the place where the mosque was stated to be situated.
The State also conceded that permission had been granted for only 20 worshippers due to a “perceived law and order situation”.
The court rejected the contention, saying State officials should resign if they could not uphold law and order.
“If the local authorities, namely the Superintendent of Police and the Collector, feel that a law and order situation could arise and therefore want to limit the number of worshippers within the premises, they should either resign from their posts or seek transfer from Sambhal if they feel they are not competent enough to enforce the rule of law,” the bench said.
The court posted the matter for the next hearing on March 16. While the State has been asked to respond to the plea, the petitioner has been directed to place on record photographs and revenue records to show where the namaz is to be offered.