The Supreme Court on Monday upheld an order of the Agra Additional District Magistrate that banned entry of outsiders to offer namaz at the mosque inside the Taj Mahal complex.
Aggrieved by the administration’s decision to restrict entry to locals, a petition by Syed Ibrahim Hussein Zaidi challenged the January 24, 2018 decision before a Bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan. The petitioner submitted that the Taj Mahal attracts thousands of tourists each day and every person should be permitted to enter the mosque and offer prayers.
The Bench found no reason to interfere with the local administration’s decision and said the step would strengthen efforts to preserve the monument. “It is one among the Seven Wonders of the World and we do not want this to decimate,” the Bench observed. The Additional District Magistrate (City) had barred non-residents from offering Friday prayers at the mosque citing security risk.
The petitioner, who is the President of the Taj Mahal Masjid Management Committee claimed that the outsiders too may be frisked as the locals to avoid security risk. But the Bench felt there was no need for outsiders to offer prayers there as there are other mosques too in the vicinity.