The Delhi high court on Wednesday allowed reopening of three floors of Nizamuddin Markaz, where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained shut since then, to enable devotees to offer prayers during Shab-e-Barat.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri removed the restriction of putting a limit of 100 people at one floor and said it has been agreed that the management of the mosque will ensure that COVID-19 protocols and social distancing will be followed while allowing devotees to enter the mosque to offer namaz.
While Delhi Police had imposed various conditions to be followed during the reopening of markaz on the occasion of Shab-e-barat, several of them were modified during the court hearing with mutual agreement between the police, Delhi Waqf Board and the management committee of the mosque.
The court noted that the ground floor and three other floors of the mosque building will be opened at 12 PM one day prior to Shab-e-Barat, which is on March 18, and will be closed the next day at 4PM.
The court, which was hearing an application by the Delhi Waqf Board seeking to open the mosque in view of Shab-e-Barat and Ramzan in March and April, listed the matter for March 31 to decide on the issue of reopening the mosque during Ramzan which will begin from April 2.
Regarding the condition imposed by the police that foreign citizens and OCI card holders will not be allowed inside the markaz premises and if some devotee of foreign origin or OCI card holder intends to offer namaz at Masjid Bangley Wali, his identity details along with ID proof will be taken by the management and submitted to the SHO, the management said it a notice will put on the display board at the entry gate specifying this restriction.
While the police, through advocate Rajat Nair, initially said no tablighi activities will be permitted during the reopening period, it was later agreed between the parties that opening of the mosque will be restricted only for offering prayers.
The court was informed that CCTV cameras have already been installed at the entry and exit points of the premises and the management will ensure that there will be screening of devotees with hand held thermal scanners at the entry point.
As senior advocates Sanjoy Ghose and Rebecca John, representing Delhi Waqf Board and the managing committee of the mosque respectively, initially submitted that the police letter was silent on the arrangement to made during Ramzan, Nair said the modalities for that will be worked out after Shab-e-barat.
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