Delhi High Court allows full reopening of Nizamuddin Markaz mosque for Shab-e-Barat day

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed full reopening of the mosque at Nizamuddin Markaz for the upcoming festival of shab-e-barat [Delhi Waqf Board Through its Chairman v Government of NCT of Delhi and Anr]..Single-judge Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri has said that the mosque will be opened a day before the shab-e-barat at 12 noon and shall be closed the next day at 4 pm as per the permission given by the local Station House Officer..The Court, however, modified many of the strict conditions that the SHO had imposed in his order.The officer had limited the number of people allowed on each floor to 100 people while adding that no foreigner should be allowed in the mosque. He had also said that CCTV cameras will be installed and the entire process will be recorded which will be handed over to him.The Court has now said that the entire mosque premise – which includes ground floor plus three other floors of the Markaz building – should be opened for offering namaz and prayers. It also removed the limitation on number of people allowed on each of these floors on the condition that Covid appropriate behaviour will be followed.Justice Ohri has said that no fresh cameras will be installed in the mosque and the footage will be submitted to the police only if the same is demanded.The management committee has also been directed to put up the restrictions imposed outside the mosque and to screen the devotees using hand-held thermometers..The Nizamuddin mosque was closed to the public in March 2020 when a group of Tablighi Jamaat members were found to be living there, allegedly in violation of COVID-19 norms.Following a Delhi High Court order, the authorities had last year allowed 50 people to offer namaz inside the mosque premises five times a day. This arrangement continues till today.The Delhi Waqf Board had approached the court seeking full reopening of the mosque in view of the upcoming festivals of shab-e-barat and Ramzan, as well as the fact that the Delhi Disaster Management Association (DDMA) has removed all COVID-19 restrictions for places of worship.During the last hearing, the Court had directed the petitioner to file an application before the SHO..Senior Advocate Rebecca John, appearing for the management committee, told the court that many of the conditions imposed by the police are highly unreasonable and unfair.“The permission says the footages will be produced before the undersigned (SHO). It is very unfair that they say that all activities regarding opening will be recorded. An impression should not go that there is surveillance,” John argued.Advocate Sanjoy Ghosh, appearing for the Waqf Board reiterated that these conditions were unfair. He demanded that they should be directed to follow only the DDMA guidelines.“Why put any specific number on people allowed? We will follow all the DDMA guidelines. If they want to limit the number of people in religious places, why should it only be for this particular mosque,” he said..Advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for the Central government, however defended the conditions on the ground that they were put in place only to prevent over-crowding and to make sure that Covid appropriate behaviour is followed..The petitioners have been asked to make a fresh application before the SHO for opening of the mosque for Ramzan.Court will now hear the matter on March 31.