MUMBAI: Stating that followers of the Tablighi Jamaat were made “scapegoats,” the Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench on Friday quashed the FIRs against 29 foreign national belonging to the Tablighi Jamaat and said as no hotels were available for stay during the nationwide lockdown, the foreigners had no option but to stay in masjids.
The foreign nationals were booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Epidemic Diseases Act, Maharashtra Police Act, Disaster Management Act and the Foreigner’s Act for allegedly violating their tourist visa conditions by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in New Delhi.
Apart from the foreign nationals, police also booked six Indian nationals and trustees of the masjids for giving shelter to the petitioners, who belong to countries such as the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Tanzania, Djibouti, Benin and Indonesia. A division bench of Justice T V Nalawade and Justice M G Sewlikar of the Aurangabad bench heard three separate petitions.
“A political government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them a scapegoat,” the bench said in its order.
“The propaganda against the so-called religious activity (Tablighi Jamaat) was unwarranted. The activity was going on for more than 50 years and it is there throughout the year,” the court noted. In a 58-page strongly worded judgement, the bench said “in big religious places, including masjids, there are arrangements of stay made for religious persons or the persons who are involved for maintaining of the masjids.”
If pilgrims or followers are made to stay in an emergency situation, it cannot be seen as a breach of rules and the law, the court said.
“If they allow some persons like foreigners to stay with them, it cannot be said that they have committed the offence of breach of the aforesaid orders. During lockdown period, all over India in many religious places arrangement was made for destitute persons, to give them shelter and to provide them meals. Such arrangements were made in gurdwara, masjids and other religious places.” The court said to blame the Jamaatis for the spread of the virus was incorrect. It said the circumstances and the latest figures of COVID-19 in India show that action against the petitioners should not have been taken.
Tablighi FIRs: Time to repent action, says HC
“It is now high time for the concerned to repent about this action taken against the foreigners and to take some positive steps to repair the damage done by such action,” the court said.
“During the situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to show more tolerance and need to be more sensitive towards our guests, particularly like the present petitioners. Instead of helping them, we lodged them in jails by making allegations that they were responsible for violation of travel documents and that they are responsible for spreading the coronavirus,” the court said.
According to the petitioners, they came to India on a valid visa issued by the Indian government and contended that on their arrival at the airport, they were screened and tested for Covid-19 and only when they were found negative for the virus, they were allowed to leave the airport.
The bench noted that the Maharashtra police acted mechanically in the present matter and the state government acted under political compulsion. “The government cannot give different treatment to citizens of different religions of different countries,” the court said.