Conceding that even though mosques are important to the Muslim community, the Kerala High Court today observed that it is not necessary as per the holy Quran that there be a mosque in every nook and cranny, Bar and Bench reported. The court was hearing a petition seeking to change a commercial building to a Muslim place of worship so as to enable Muslims in the vicinity to access a mosque to offer prayers five times a day. 

Refusing to grant permission, Justice PV Kunhikrishnan of the Kerala High Court noted that the state already has a large number of religious structures and the ratio of religious structures to population is already very high.

“Because of the peculiar geographical situation of Kerala, it is known as ‘God’s own country’. But we are exhausted with religious places and prayer halls and we are not in a position to allow any new religious places and prayer halls except in the rarest of rare cases,” the court said in its verdict.

Also Read| Civic Chandran case: Kerala judge who made ‘sexually provocative dresses’ remark transferred

Referring to the verses Juz 10 Surah 18 and Juz 1 Surah 114 of the Holy Our-an and to Clause 1064 of Riyadussaliheen, the court said that the verses clearly highlight the importance of Mosque to the Muslim community. “But it is not stated in the above verses of the Holy Quran that Mosque is necessary in every nook and corner……It is not stated in the “Hadees” or in the Holy Quran that mosque is to be situated adjacent to the house of every Muslim community member. Distance is not the criteria, but reaching the mosque is important,” Bar and Bench reported, quoting the court’s observations.

The court said that there was no need for another mosque within the vicinity since 36 mosques already existed in the area.

As per the report, the Court also referred to the findings of a study on religious structures based on the 2011 Census 2011 which said that Kerala has 10 times the number of religious structures as villages and 3.5 times the number of hospitals.

The court further said that in the current case in question, reports by the intelligence and the police state have flagged the threat of communal disharmony if the present conversion of the commercial building to a religious prayer hall is allowed.

“It is true that Article 26(a) of the Constitution of India states that subject to the public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes. That does not mean that they can construct religious places in every nook and corner of the country. Kerala is a very small State”, the court said.

Also Read: Sexual harassment complaint not valid if woman was wearing ‘sexually provocative’ clothes: Kerala court in bail order

Significantly, the court also invoked its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution and issued directions to the state government and police authorities to take necessary steps to close down any religious places functioning without obtaining permission from the competent authorities. The court also asked the authorities to consider all applications seeking to start religious places and prayer halls in a strict manner and prohibit the change of category of a building to a religious place except in inevitable circumstances.