Aurangabad; 23 Aug 2020 (UMMN): A Division Bench of Bombay High Court in Aurangabad on Friday has quashed the FIRs filed against 29 foreign nationals who were booked under various provisions of IPC.
Petitioners were booked under Epidemic Diseases Act, Maharashtra Police Act, Disaster Management Act and Foreigner's Act for violating their Tourist Visa conditions by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi, after police claimed to have received secret information about them residing at the respective mosques in different areas and offering prayers in violation of lockdown orders.
Bench of Justice TV Nalawade and Justice MG Sewlikar heard the three separate petitions filed by petitioners who belong to countries like Indonesia, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Djibouti, and Benin, legal news website LiveLaw.in has reported.
According to the petitioners, they came to India on a valid visa issued by the Government of India, and under the conditions of visa, there was no prohibition to visit religious places like mosques. On their arrival at the airport, they were screened and tested for COVID-19 virus and only when they were found negative for the virus, they were allowed to leave the airport.
They had informed the District Superintendent of Police about their arrival in Ahmednagar district. Due to the lockdown imposed since March 23, vehicular movement was stopped, hotels and lodges were closed and consequently the Mosque had given shelter to them.
At Delhi Markaz, they had observed norms of physical distancing.
On the other hand, according to National Herald, the District Superintendent of Police, Ahmednagar, filed a reply contending that the petitioners were found visiting places for preaching Islam religion and so, crimes are registered against them. He also contended that five foreign nationals from three different cases were found infected by the virus.
After going through the visa conditions that petitioners are governed by, Justice Nalawade, who authored the judgment, noted-"The aforesaid material produced on the record shows that even under recent updated Manual of Visa, there is no restriction on foreigners for visiting religious places and attending normal religious activities like attending religious discourses. Ordinarily, a tourist is not expected to follow the procedure laid down in para No. 19.8 if he does not want to preach the religious ideologies etc.
In view of the discussion made by this Court, this Court holds that it will be abuse of process of law if the petitioners are directed to face the trial in aforesaid cases,"
APP MM Nerlikar contended that a writ petition is pending before the Supreme Court and in that matter relief is claimed by some similar foreigners to declare that blacklisting of 950 foreigners by the Central Government via decision dated April 2 as unconstitutional and void as due process of law was not followed before making such declaration by the Central Government.
In a strongly-worded judgment, Justice Nalawade observed, "The material on the record shows that Tabligh Jamamat is not a separate sect of Muslim, but it is only movement for reformation of religion. Every religion has evolved over the years due to reformation as reformation is always necessary due to the changes in the society and the development achieved in the material world. In any case, even from the record, it cannot be inferred that the foreigners were spreading Islam religion by converting persons of other religion to Islam…”.
Criticising the media's portrayal of foreign nationals who attended Tablighi Jamaat, Justice Nalawade specified, "There was big propaganda in print media and electronic media against the foreigners who had come to Markaz Delhi and an attempt was made to create a picture that these foreigners were responsible for spreading COVID-19 virus in India. There was virtually persecution against these foreigners.
A political government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them scapegoats. The aforesaid circumstances and the latest figures of infection in India show that such action against present petitioners should not have been taken. 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."
Finally, referring to the old Indian saying 'Atithi Devo Bhava' meaning 'Our Guest Is Our God', Justice Nalawade said, "The circumstances of the present matter create a question as to whether we are really acting as per our great tradition and culture. During the situation created by covid-19 pandemic, we need to show more tolerance and we need to be more sensitive towards our guests particularly like the present petitioners. The allegations made show that instead of helping them we lodged them in jails by making allegations that they are responsible for violation of travel documents, they are responsible for spreading of virus etc."
"For the limited purpose, this court is holding that the police action is based on such instructions probably of the executive and apparently there is discrimination as mentioned above. On this ground also, the malice is inferable and the cases need to be quashed," it added.
