Supreme Court to Decide if 'Ram Leela’, ‘Mata Ki Chowki' & Other Religious Functions Should be Allowed in Public Places
The petitioner in the case is Jyoti Jagran Mandal, a socio-religious outfit which has been organising the Mata ki Chowki at the South-West Delhi park over the past 40 years.
New Delhi, July 6: The Supreme Court has assigned a constitution bench to take up the question whether religious functions and ceremonies should be allowed in the public. The order came after a bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Indu Malhotra were hearing a petition filed against a recent NGT ruling which denies permission for holding 'jagran' (overnight prayers) and 'Mata ki Chowki' at a park in South-West Delhi.
While the apex court agreed with the NGT's view, it decided to pose the question to a higher bench considering the sensitivity of the case.
During the course of the hearing, Justice Nariman said he thinks "what the NGT has done is right". Reverting to this, the petitioner's lawyer Fuzail Ayyubi pointed the NGT order of October 2017 which had permitted 'Ram Leela', a similar religious event in the park.
The petitioner in the case is Jyoti Jagran Mandal, a socio-religious outfit which has been organising the Mata ki Chowki at the South-West Delhi park over the past 40 years.
The far-right Bajrang Dal has demanded the court to adopt a similar scathing view for public functions organised by other groups affiliated to religions other than Hinduism. "Usually, we have observed that such rules and limitations only apply to Hindus," said Abhishek Gaur, the group's Gurgaon unit chief.
Gurgaon was recently the flashpoint of the controversy which erupted over 'namaz' in public. With only 22 mosques for a population of 7 lakh Muslims, the minority community had been offering Friday congregational prayers at various vacant plots in the city.
Activists of the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had begun opposing the namaz since March this year, with videos showing devotees being harassed and forced to abort their prayers at some locations.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2018 11:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).