GURGAON: A Muslim outfit formed recently in the wake of repeated protests in the city against namaz in public spaces has moved the
Supreme Court, seeking contempt proceedings against officers of the state for failing to stop disruption of Friday prayers.
The outfit - Gurgaon Muslim Council, which is led by former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb - has in its petition cited the court's orders on measures to be taken to "curb the communal and violent tendencies that result in perpetration of hate crimes" in the Tehseen S Poonawalla vs Union of India case in 2018 to seek action against the Haryana chief secretary and director general of police.
The outfit said it will initiate wider legal moves that would include approaching the high court on different aspects that they have brought up, like inadequate space to offer namaz and land not being available to build mosques.
The petition argues that the government has failed to comply with the Supreme Court's directions, and the state machinery has been in a state of inaction instead of in taking effective measures to prevent disruptions of namaz. "While presently only certain elements are carrying out a hateful campaign, the inaction of the police in preventing the said persons despite prior information repeatedly given by the present petitioner and others is contempt," reads the petition filed by Adeeb, who lives in Gurgaon.
In the 2018 hearings on mob violence, the Supreme Court had directed governments to adopt a three-pronged approach - preventive measures, remedial measures and punitive measures - to ensure no group of persons or organisations takes the law in their hands and to identify such tendencies to make sure no untoward incident takes place.
Adeeb said Muslims in the city have been performing Friday prayers peacefully and without causing any disturbance. Namaz has been taking place in open areas, he added, because no space has been allotted for it by the municipal authorities. "It is also pertinent to note that the open locations used for the limited purpose of performing namaz are not in any manner of encroachment but rather conducted after approval from the relevant government authorities. As many as 37 locations had been designated for this purpose ," he said.