The Allahabad High Court quashes the case against two men accused of violating a prohibitory order by offering Namaz at a restricted site in Sant Kabir Nagar. A single-judge bench of Justice Saurabh Srivastava quashed the case arising out of an FIR under sections 143 (member of unlawful assembly) and 188 (orders duly promulgated by government officials) of the IPC. The bench observed that the implication of the applicants “who had no criminal history” was not justified.
The proceedings that were challenged before the high court consist of a charge sheet that dates back to August 29, 2017, and a summons order dating back to May 27, 2019, issued by the Civil Judge (Junior Division)/Judicial Magistrate, Sant Kabir Nagar. It was submitted that two students with “no prior criminal record” were named in the case merely because they intended to offer namaz in accordance with their faith.
As per the case, the local administration had restricted certain places for offering namaz in order to maintain law and order. However, the student went ahead to offer namaz despite the restriction, leading to the registration of an FIR.
Senior Counsel Anil Srivastava, who appeared and represented applicants and was assisted by Adv. Mohd Shamim, said that both the accused had no criminal records and were students. In the argument, it was stated that the students were implicated only because they intended to offer namaz in accordance with their faith.
The restriction of a few specific sites was put in place to maintain peace and communal harmony and because the applicants had violated those orders of the administrative directions. However, the court noted that their action was based on their intention to offer Namaz at a place that was temporarily restricted by the administration.
The court also observed that in a country where democracy and secularism make the foundation, citizens of every faith are guaranteed the right to follow their beliefs and religious rituals; however, directions issued by the local administration should be followed to maintain law and order. Meantime, both students were warned to adhere to any specific restrictions or instructions issued by the local administration to maintain peace and harmony.
