The Mosque was closed for devotees after the Tablighi Jamaat congregation last year. A single-judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta relied upon the June 2020 Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) guidelines that permitted the opening of places of worship and religious places. The high court noted that there were no directions for the closure of places of worship under the latest guidelines issued on April 10.
The court further said that the situation is getting severe day by day, but since all the religious places of worship are open, this (Markaz) had to be opened too.
The court then sought an affidavit from the responsible authority on their opinion relating to religious places. The court noted that no affidavit was filed and therefore it relied on the DDMA notification which was issued last year and was still in force.
Appearing for the Union of India, advocate Rajat Nair told the court that the situation is becoming grave day by day and the infection is at an all-time high in the national capital and therefore it would not be in the interest of anyone to push for the gathering of a religious nature at present time. Nair told the court that Kalka Temple is offering online Darshan and so is Sacred Heart Church by conducting online sessions.
The court clarified that its order was subjected to any new notification relating to religious places and gatherings. The court made this order official after hearing a petition filed by Delhi Waqf Board through advocate Wajeeh Shafiq.
The petition questioned the necessity of keeping the waqf premises, which is situated at the Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin between Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin and police station Hazrat Nizamuddin, under locks. The petitioner sought to issue directions to the respondents to consider taking more advanced and scientific methods to secure the condition of Waqf premises by making sketches/digital sketches, photography/videography of the interiors of the Waqf premises.
The petition further directed the respondents to cause minimum interference with the operation of the religious place. The central government vide its guidelines, known as “Guidelines for Unlock 1,” dated May 5, 2020, had approved the religious places outside the containment zones to be opened from June 08, 2020.
However, as per the information given by the petitioner from September 2020, the area of Hazrat Nizamuddin is kept outside the list of containment zones.
