Mumbai: The Bombay High Court (Aurangabad bench) in the judgement said that the foreign citizens, who had participated the Tablighi Jamaat program which took place in Delhi before lockdown due to CoronaVirus in March this year, have been made “scapegoats” and allegations were pointed that they have been responsible for spreading CoronaVirus in the country.
The 29 foreign citizens were booked under the various provisions of the IPC, the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and Foreigner’s Act for allegedly violating their tourist visa guidelines by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held at Nizamuddin in Delhi.
A division bench of Justices T V Nalawade and M G Sewlikar made the observations on August 21 while canceling the FIRs lodged against 29 foreign nationals, who had participated in the event.
The court also said that while the Maharashtra police acted under “political compulsion” acted instinctively in the case. The bench in its order noted that there was a big propaganda against the foreigners who had come to the Markaz in Delhi.
“A political government in center attempts to find the scapegoat when there is CoronaVirus Pandemic and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners have been selected to make them a scapegoat,” the court said in its order.
The Bombay court said “It is now high time for the concerned to repent about this action taken against the foreigners and to take some positive steps to repair the damage done by such action.”
In the court order, the bench noted that many Muslims from around the world come to India and visit the Markaz Masjid in Delhi as they are attracted by the reform movement of Tablighi Jamat.
“It is a continuous process and it appears that there are arrangements of stay also made by the Muslims at Markaz Delhi,” the court said.
The court further said that the foreigners visit to Masjids in India were not prohibited and there’s nothing on the record to show that this activity has been banned permanently by the government.
“The activity of Tablighi Jamat got stalled only after the declaration of lockdown in Delhi and till then it was going on,” the court further said.
the court said “During the situation created by CoronaVirus pandemic, we need to show more tolerance and need to be more sensitive towards our guests, particularly like the present petitioners.” “Instead of helping them, we lodged them in jails by making allegations that they were responsible for violation of travel documents and that they are responsible for spreading the coronavirus,” the court further said.
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