Allahabad High Court has made a big comment regarding offering Namaz on public land. The High Court has said that public land cannot be used by one party for offering Namaz. The court also said that the right to religious freedom also depends on the freedom of the other party.
Commenting further, the Allahabad High Court said, “If work is done contrary to the High Court tradition, the state government has the full right to intervene.” A petition was filed in the HC for offering Namaz on the populated land in Ikauna, Sambhal. Justice Garima Prasad and Justice Saral Srivastava rejected the petition.
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In this decision given in the writ petition (Asin vs Uttar Pradesh Government), the court made it clear that everyone has equal rights on public land and its unilateral use is not legally acceptable.
In the judgment, the Court made it clear that earlier in the case of Munazir Khan vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others, the Court, while protecting bona fide prayer within private premises, had held that personal religious practice cannot be arbitrarily interfered with. However, these decisions cannot be read as implying that there is complete freedom for organized or regular collective activity on private premises. Where activity extends beyond that area and begins to affect the public sector, legitimate regulation applies. This decision does not give the right to convert private premises into uncontrolled collective space.
The Court said that the right to practice religion is subject to public order, including access, movement and peaceful life, and cannot be exercised in a way that interferes with these rights of others. The court said that even if the land is considered private, the petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought. The record shows that he is not protecting any existing practice but is demanding the introduction of regular mass meetings involving persons from within and outside the village. It has been accepted that earlier Namaz was offered only on special occasions like Eid. This extension beyond the limited private sector falls outside the protected area and is subject to regulation.
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