The Centre on Friday opposed before the Delhi high court fully re-opening the Nizamuddin Markaz, where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March 2020 amid COVID-19 pandemic and has remained shut since then, stating that a few people may be allowed to offer prayers on the upcoming religious occasions.
Justice Jasmeet Singh, who was hearing a plea by the Delhi Waqf Board seeking a direction to open the mosque for the holy month, clarified that no "Tablighi activities" and lectures can take place on the premises and only prayers can be offered.
According to the police, the doors of the markaz were opened at around 12.30 pm.
The court declined to increase the number of people or allow use of other floors of the mosque for offering prayers as sought by senior advocate Ramesh Gupta on behalf of the Delhi Waqf Board, but allowed them to move an application before the SHO for the same.
The Delhi High Court has dropped charges against 70 Indian nationals accused of housing foreign attendees of Tablighi Jamaat congregation in March 2020 allegedly in violation of COVID-19 norms, citing lack of evidence.
Briefing the media persons, Rawat said, "There is no comparison between Markaz and Kumbh. Markaz was in a closed hall. All the people slept in a single hall with close contacts. They shared blankets. On the contrary, there are 16 ghats in Kumbh. Not just Haridwar, Kumbh is spread from Rishikesh to Nilkanth. Devotees take bath in different ghats at different times."
The doctors have also demanded enhanced security outside and within the hospitals where the Markaz evacuees have been admitted. A doctor said some patients evacuated from Nizamuddin Markaz, the headquarters of Tabligh-e-Jamaat in south Delhi, don't follow instructions from doctors and are reluctant to take medicines.
Kandhalvi had organised the religious gathering at Nizamuddin Markaz last month against the social distancing protocol imposed by the Centre to curb the spread of the deadly disease.
The eight Malaysian Tablighi activists were hiding in the Delhi-NCR region and they tried to take the advantage of a special flight arranged by the Malaysian high commission for their citizens stranded in India due to the coronavirus-triggered 21-day lockdown.
"We cannot allow people to reside in guesthouses or any other place other than their own house," said Justice Yogesh Khanna who further stated that "preservation of site" pursuant to a criminal proceeding did not mean locking up the place.
The ministry of home affairs gave in detail the steps taken by the Delhi Police which is making all efforts to complete the investigation within the time frame to submit the charge sheet in the trial court.
"The NSA had to intervene as there was a large congregation going on there for several days and after his intervention, the Jamaat leaders also cooperated and vacated the place," the sources said.
The Delhi Police's crime branch had, on March 31, lodged an FIR against seven people, including the cleric, on a complaint by station house officer of Nizamuddin police station for holding a congregation of Tablighi Jamaat followers in alleged violation of the orders against large gatherings to contain the spread of coronavirus.
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These foreigners had attended the event in March, following which in April COVID-19 cases across the country spiked after hundreds of Tablighi Jamaat members, who had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz event, tested positive.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur gave five days to the investigating agencies to inspect the premises before it is handed over to Saad's family. The court was hearing an application filed by Saad's mother Khalida seeking unlocking of the premises where they resided.
Metropolitan Magistrate Dev Choudhary allowed foreigners from Djibouti, Mali, Kenya and 17 Sri Lankans to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 5,000 each, said advocate Ashima Mandla, appearing for them.
The apex court, which asked the Centre to consider creating a regulatory mechanism and apprise it, said the government should also inform as to what steps have been taken on the issue under the Cable Television Network Act (CTNA).
In a communication to Chief Secretaries and DGPs, the ministry said there have been reports that several Rohingya Muslims have attended 'Ijtemas' and other religious congregations of Tablighi Jamaat and there is a possibility of their contracting COVID-19.
MHA said that about 2,000 such Tablighi Jamaat members in Delhi, 1,804 have been shifted to quarantine centres while 334 symptomatic persons have been admitted to hospitals
The markaz (centre) in the south Delhi neighbourhood organised a Tabligh-e-Jamaat from March 1-15 and at least 2,000 people, including foreigners and Indians from across the country, attended it.
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The 91 foreigners from 21 countries were chargesheeted for attending Markaz at Nizamuddin in New Delhi allegedly in violation of visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines issued after the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the chargesheets, all the foreign nationals have been booked for violating visa rules, violating government guidelines issued in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and regulations regarding Epidemic diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and prohibitory orders under section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure.
The top court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, whether protesting farmers are protected from COVID-19.
Inside the narrow alleys of the basti, two CRPF companies -- around 150 armed guards -- have been deployed to keep a check on any unnecessary movement, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi.
The prime minister held a meeting with chief ministers via video-conferencing, and said it was imperative to work on war footing, identify hotspots, encircle them and ensure that coronavirus does not spread out.
'We should start giving this vaccination immediately to doctors, nurses etc and also to the elderly.'
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A home ministry official said while 9,000 Tablighi Jamaat members and their primary contacts have been quarantined till now across the country due to "massive efforts" to check the outbreak, the Centre has written to all states and union territories that "the lockdown measures should be implemented in letter and spirit".
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