Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has refused to grant permission to offer prayers at the mosque located near the runway inside Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, citing national security concerns. According to a Times Now report, the FlyDubai cockpit-attack incident was also raised during the hearing.
The order came on a petition concerning the 136-year-old Bankra mosque situated within the airport complex, which challenges the indefinite restriction on devotees' access to the shrine imposed by airport authorities on security and aviation-safety grounds.
The case so far
The petition, before Justice Krishna Rao, contests the decision to stop entry to the mosque indefinitely. Senior advocate Kishore Datta, appearing for the petitioners, sought protection against any demolition of the structure pending adjudication and argued that access arrangements which earlier allowed devotees to reach the mosque during prayer hours had since been discontinued.
Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi, appearing for the authorities, stressed that the issue involved national security considerations and questioned the basis for seeking such relief. Additional Advocate General Bilwadal Bhattacharya also raised concerns over law-and-order implications if access were restored.
The dispute has been building for months. Airport authorities stopped issuing entry passes to devotees in July, after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security flagged concerns over civilian access to the high-security airport zone. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has defended the restrictions, saying national security and airport security take priority over everything else, while the mosque committee and opposition leaders have questioned the manner in which access was stopped. A proposed mass gathering in support of the mosque was called off after police imposed prohibitory orders in the area.
Sources:
Times Now — Breaking News Live: Calcutta High Court refuses to grant permission to offer prayers in mosque near Kolkata Airport
Millennium Post — HC to hear plea over Kolkata airport mosque issue
The order came on a petition concerning the 136-year-old Bankra mosque situated within the airport complex, which challenges the indefinite restriction on devotees' access to the shrine imposed by airport authorities on security and aviation-safety grounds.
The case so far
The petition, before Justice Krishna Rao, contests the decision to stop entry to the mosque indefinitely. Senior advocate Kishore Datta, appearing for the petitioners, sought protection against any demolition of the structure pending adjudication and argued that access arrangements which earlier allowed devotees to reach the mosque during prayer hours had since been discontinued.
Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi, appearing for the authorities, stressed that the issue involved national security considerations and questioned the basis for seeking such relief. Additional Advocate General Bilwadal Bhattacharya also raised concerns over law-and-order implications if access were restored.
The dispute has been building for months. Airport authorities stopped issuing entry passes to devotees in July, after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security flagged concerns over civilian access to the high-security airport zone. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has defended the restrictions, saying national security and airport security take priority over everything else, while the mosque committee and opposition leaders have questioned the manner in which access was stopped. A proposed mass gathering in support of the mosque was called off after police imposed prohibitory orders in the area.
Sources:
Times Now — Breaking News Live: Calcutta High Court refuses to grant permission to offer prayers in mosque near Kolkata Airport
Millennium Post — HC to hear plea over Kolkata airport mosque issue
