Telanganan HC affirms rights of Muslim women to pray in mosques

A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao has affirmed the right of Muslim women to enter a mosque and offer prayers.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao has affirmed the right of Muslim women to enter a mosque and offer prayers. The decision addresses a writ appeal filed by the Muthawali Committee of Ibadath Khana Hussaini, challenging a previous order that permitted women of the Akbari sect to perform majlis (prayers) at the mosque. The initial judgment had granted women access but included specific interpretations of Quranic verses, which have now been expunged by the High Court bench. The case had begun when the Anjumane Alavi Shia Imamia Athna Ashari Akhbari filed a writ petition against the Muthawali Committee’s denial of entry to women for prayer. The single judge initially ruled in favor of allowing women’s participation, which led to the appeal by the Muthawali Committee. During proceedings, it was conceded by both parties that the right of women to enter a mosque and participate in prayers was undisputed. However, it was agreed that women were not permitted to lead prayers within the mosque. The bench acknowledged this agreement and subsequently removed the interpretative elements related to Quranic verses from the earlier ruling. The High Court also directed the mosque authorities to implement arrangements to accommodate women for separate prayer sessions, ensuring they have a designated space within the mosque.

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Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court dismissed two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) that sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allotment of 850 acres of government land in Gachibowli and Mamidipally in 2004. The land was allocated by the then TDP government to IMG Bharata Academies Private Limited at a reportedly minimal cost for the development of sports academies. The first PIL was filed by veteran journalist A.B.K. Prasad and YSRC leader Vijaysai Reddy, while the second was submitted by city-based advocate T. Sriranga Rao. Both petitions, lodged in 2012, aimed to investigate the alleged non-transparent allotment process and sought a direction for the CBI to probe the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and sale agreements. In its ruling, the court noted that Vijay Sai Reddy, a petitioner in one of the PILs, had a political background and was a member of the YSR Congress Party. At the time of filing, Reddy was incarcerated in connection with a case involving the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Group of Companies. The court observed that this connection and his political rivalry with the newly impleaded respondent impacted the PIL’s context. The court also criticized the second petitioner, advocate T. Sriranga Rao, for not disclosing crucial information regarding prior dismissals of similar complaints, which were previously upheld by the court. The court found that the issues raised in the PILs had been previously adjudicated and that there was undue delay in bringing these cases forward. Conclusively, the court held that the PILs did not warrant an extraordinary review under the writ court jurisdiction and found no merit in the petitions. Both were dismissed, reinforcing the binding nature of earlier judgments and highlighting procedural delays and personal interest in the litigation.