“A political government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is a probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them scapegoats,” court said.
Dismissing the FIRs/Chargsheets registered by Mumbai Police against Tablighi Jamaat foreigners, the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad bench) came down strongly against the media propaganda over the issue.
“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”, the court said adding that there was “virtually persecution” against these foreigners.
A division bench comprising Justice TV Nalawade and Justice MG Sewlikar, after examining the material on record, reached the conclusion that no prima facie case was made out against the 35 petitioners before the Court, including several foreigners. They were booked under several sections of IPC for violating Tourist Visa conditions by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi.
“The material of the present matter shows that the propaganda against the so-called religious activity was unwarranted,” the court said, noting that no prima facies case under these statutes was made out against the petitioners, the bench said.
Tablighi Jamaat activity had been going on for more than 50 years and that it has to be presumed that the Central Government was aware of it while granting a visa to the foreigners to attend the conference at Nizamuddin Markaz at New Delhi, the court observed.
Court also said that Tablighis were made “scapegoats” and that the present numbers of COVID-19 cases in India show that the action against Tablighi Jamaat attendees was unwarranted.
“A political Government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is a 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,” the court said.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
