Prayagraj, March 14 Rejecting an order by the Uttar Pradesh government restricting the number of people offering prayers at a mosque in the Sambhal district due to law and order issues, the Allahabad High Court has said that the Superintendent of Police and Collector should either resign or seek transfer if they feel they are not competent enough to enforce the rule of law.
A bench of justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan observed, "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 a private property as already held by the court, to perform worship without any permission from the State."
The court was hearing a petition filed by Munazir Khan of Sambhal, alleging that he was prevented from conducting prayers during Ramzan at Gata No. 291, where, according to the petitioner, the mosque exists.
"This court has already settled that it is only where prayers or religious functions have to be held on public land or spill over to public property that the involvement of the state is essential and permission must be sought," the court said in its order dated February 27.
The state has disputed the ownership of Gata No. 291 by saying that this is reflected in the names of Mohan Singh and Bhooraj Singh, both sons of Sukhi Singh, in the revenue records.
However, permission was granted only to 20 worshippers who may offer namaz, whereas the petitioner says a larger number of people may come for prayers as it is the month of Ramzan.
Counsel for the State said that due to the perceived law and order situation, such an order restricting the number of worshippers was passed.
After hearing counsels for the parties, the court said, "It is the duty of the State to ensure that the rule of law prevails under every circumstance. If the local authorities, i.e., the Superintendent of Police and Collector, feel that the law and order situation could arise, and they want to limit the number of worshippers within the premises, they should either resign from their post or seek transfer outside Sambhal."
The court fixed March 16 for the next hearing.