NEW DELHI: Only residents of Agra will be allowed to offer
Juma namaz (Friday prayers) at Mumtazi Masjid inside
Taj Mahal premises with Supreme Court on Monday refusing to open the door of protected monument for outsiders saying that Taj, which is already facing threat due to pollution, has to be protected at any cost.
“This (Taj Mahal) is one of the seven wonders of the world and we do not want this to decimate,” a bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said while dismissing a plea for allowing outsiders to perform prayer at the site.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by Syed Ibrahim Hussain Zaidi challenging Agra's Additional District Magistrate decision barring non-residents from offering prayers inside Taj premises on the ground of security. Zaidi who is president of the Taj Mahal Masjid Management Committee said that there should not be discrimination and person, irrespective of their resident status, should be permitted to go inside the mosque and offer prayers.
“The administrative action by way of impugned order dated January 24, 2018 of the respondent making illegal and arbitrary classification between the residents and non-residents on the question of security of the monument is not based on any intelligible or rational principles and being wholly unrelated to the objects sought be be achieved. Hence, the said impugned order is liable to be struck down,” the petition said.
The petitioner contended that proper security arrangement should be put in place inside Taj Mahal instead of barring outsiders from entering the mosque.
As the bench was not in favour of granting relief, the petitioner pleaded the court to allow him to withdraw the petition and allow it to approach High Court. The court, however, dismissed his plea, blocking his option to agitate the issue before Allahabad HC.
