The Mumbai High Court on Friday rejected initial reports opposing 29 foreigners arrested for allegedly violating the terms of their tourist visa by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, Live Law reported. The court, while hearing a plea of foreign citizens, appealed to the government to take rigorous measures to oppose them.
Police also reserved six Indian citizens and mosque directors to space out petitioners. A panel of judges TV Nalawade and MG Sewlikar from the bank of Aurangabad heard three other pleas. The petitions were filed through citizens of countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Tanzania, Djibouti, Benin and Indonesia.
“A political government is looking to locate the scapegoat on the occasion of a pandemic or calamity, and the cases show that these foreigners were most likely selected to turn them into scapegoats,” the court said. “Previous cases and the most recent infection figures in India show that no such action has been taken against existing petitioners. Now is the best time for those involved to repent of this action taken against foreigners and take positive steps to fix the damage caused by such action.
Petitioners claimed to have visited India on a valid visa to learn about culture, hospitality and food. Upon arrival, they reported being screened and screened for coronavirus and allowed to leave the airport after the effects were negative.
Those accused of violating the criteria said they had reported their arrival to the Police Commissioner in Ahmednagar district. Petitioners added that the national closure has disrupted vehicle traffic and caused hotels to close, forcing them to take refuge in mosques. Their request indicated that foreigners had not asked to inform the local government of their safe places, adding that visa needs did not prohibit them from entering devout sites either.
The petitioners claimed to have been involved in some illicit activity, adding the violation to the district collector’s order. They also claimed to have practiced physical distance in Nizamuddin Markaz.
The police superintendent of Ahmednagar district, meanwhile, filed a reaction alleging that the petitioners had gone to places where Islam was preached, so crimes had been recorded against them, Live Law reported. The officer claimed that the petitioners had violated Tabligh’s prohibition orders. Nor had they voluntarily given the evidence despite announcements in public stagings, he added.
Bombay HC says Tablighi Jamaat’s foreigners were “scapegoats”; Cancel the FIR them; Criticism of media propaganda [Read the judgment] https://t.co/Kj4UQZCpHJ
Nalawade, who drafted the 58-page ruling, said the updated visa manual did not prevent foreigners from visiting devout sites and attending devout activities in general. “… even from registration, foreigners cannot be inferred from spreading the faith of Islam by converting others of some other faith to Islam,” he added.
The court described the accusations as “very vague in nature” and stated that “at no time is it conceivable to infer that they propagate the faith of Islam and that there was an objective of conversion.” “The government cannot give no other remedy to citizens of other religions in other countries,” the court said, according to The Hindu.
The court published reports in print and virtual media opposing foreigners and said it had tried to blame them for the spread of coronavirus in the country. “There has been almost persecution of these foreigners,” he says.
The bank of the High Court of Bombay noted that protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Citizens Registry had taken a stand across India since last year. The court noted that several Muslims took part in the protests because they believed the Center’s movements discriminated against their community.
The court said the action opposed to Tablighi members had created concern in the minds of Muslims and an indirect warning to citizens of the network in India that “action can be taken in any form and for anything against Muslims.”
“So there’s a smell of malice in the measures taken against those foreigners and Muslims for their alleged activities,” the court said, according to The Hindu. “Circumstances such as wickedness are vital attention when the cancellation of the FIR and the case itself is requested.”
Nalawade also pointed to the saying “Atithi Devo Bhava [Our guest is our god]”, and said that this case would call into question whether the Indians were acting according to their tradition. “The allegations demonstrated that instead of assisting them, we put them in jail, claiming they are guilty of document rape, are guilty of the spread of viruses, etc.,” the opinion on it said.
In February, banks in Nalawade and Sewlikar rejected prohibition orders after locating that anti-CAA protesters can be described simply as “traitors or anti-nationals.”
The Citizenship Amendment Act grants citizenship to refugees from six minority communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. The law, passed on December 11, has been criticized by Muslims. In December, at least 28 other people were killed in anti-law protests, adding 19 in Uttar Pradesh. Most of those who died had been shot.
Tablighi Jamaat’s congregation was blamed for thousands of coronavirus infections nationwide during the first weeks of the national closure that began on March 25. The congregation was followed by many foreigners. Tablighi Jamaat is a Sunni Muslim sect with followers in more than 80 countries.
In June, the Centre blacklisted more than 2,500 Tablighi members and banned them from entering the country for 10 years. The action taken after several state governments presented data on those accused of illegally living in mosques and seminaries.
In July, a Delhi court granted bail to 82 Bangladeshi people who attended the event. Sixty-two Malays and 11 Saudis were also released after being fined by a local court.
On August 6, the Center told the Supreme Court that foreigners, who face fees for attending the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi in March, may leave India after apologizing.
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