New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court ruled that public land cannot be claimed by any individual or group for exclusive religious use, holding that such activities, including offering namaz, must remain subject to public order and the rights of others.The observation was made by a division bench of Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Garima Prasad while dismissing a petition filed by Asin, a resident of Ikauna under Gunnaur tehsil of Sambhal district, who had sought relief regarding the use of land for offering namaz.As per ANI report, the Court clarified that “public land cannot be used unilaterally for religious purposes by any one party,” adding that all persons have equal rights over such property and its exclusive use is not legally permissible.Reiterating the broader legal position, the bench said that “the right to practice religion is subject to public order” and cannot be exercised in a manner that violates the rights of others. It further states that religious freedom is not absolute and remains subject to the rights of others.Citing earlier judgments including Munazir Khan v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others, the Court held that genuine religious practices within private premises are protected and cannot be arbitrarily interfered with, but such protection does not amount to a “complete carte blanche” for organized or regular mass religious activities.The Court further held that when such activities transcend private boundaries and begin to affect the public sphere, regulatory intervention by the State is permissible. “It cannot be interpreted to imply that there is an unrestricted right to convert private premises into unregulated gathering places for regular gatherings,” it said.

Court warns of ban on Namaz gathering

In examining the present case, the Bench held that the petitioner was not seeking to preserve an existing long-standing tradition but was attempting to introduce regular mass gatherings involving participants from within and outside the village.The Court noted that historically, prayers were offered at the site only on specific occasions such as Eid, and added that any expansion beyond this limited practice would be outside the scope of protected activity and therefore open to regulation.It further commented that the State has the right to intervene where activities deviate from established traditions and affect public order. The Division Bench also held that even if the land was considered to be private property, the petitioner would not be entitled to the relief sought.In its order, the Court said that if public land is transferred illegally and later used for seeking organized Namaz meetings, such sale deed would be considered illegal and would not be sustainable in law.