The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that security overrides religion while refusing any relief to taxi and auto rickshaw drivers who sought to offer namaz at the area near the airport city, which is now a demolished temporary shed. The taxi and auto driver sought this in the light of the month of Ramadan.
A bench led by Justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla said that while Ramadan was a significant part of Islam, they cannot claim a religious right to offer namaz at any place during the holy month. Emphasising the critical importance of airport security, the High Court said it would not throw caution to the wind.
The petition was filed by the Taxi-Rickshaw Ola-Uber Men’s Union, who sought that a temporary shed in the area of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), where they used to offer prayers, be demolished by authorities last year.
The union asked for the same space or some other in the area so that they could offer namaz. Meantime, the court also directed the police and airport authorities to examine any other space that can be allotted to them.
Following this, the authorities submitted a report chronicling the survey of seven other sites, highlighting that none were found to be suitable to be allotted to the petitioners to offer prayers, citing congestion, security concerns, and airport development plan constraints.
The court observed that the petitioners would have to identify another location and pointed out that a madrassa (Islamic school) within one kilometer of the site was available where prayers could be offered. The High Court emphasized that a prayer space cannot be permitted in the vicinity of the airport due to safety concerns.
“There is no question of getting a structure near the airport (to offer prayers). Religion or otherwise—security comes first. Everybody travels through this airport irrespective of their religion,” the court said.
“We have never seen anything like this anywhere in the world. You cannot have something like this near the airport,” the court observed.
“You (petitioners) cannot decide the place. Tomorrow you will say you want to stand in the middle of Oval Maidan (a recreational ground in South Mumbai) and offer prayers. That is not possible,” it said.
“No one is stopping you from offering prayers five times a day, but it cannot be anywhere. Security concerns are serious,” the court stated.
“Maybe in the future when the airport terminal is redeveloped, then a space can be allotted so that this problem does not persist. Because we need to understand that the petitioners (auto and taxi drivers) provide service to passengers coming and going out of Mumbai,” it said.
