The Allahabad high court has directed the district magistrate (DM) and senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Bareilly to appear before it on March 23 in a case alleging that authorities did not allow the petitioner to offer namaz inside his residence.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Siddhartha Nandan while hearing a petition filed by Bareilly resident Tarik Khan.
Earlier on February 12, the court granted time to the counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government to seek instructions in the matter and issued notices to the DM and SSP, Bareilly under the Contempt of Courts Act for allegedly flouting the high court order dated January 27, 2026 in the case of Maranatha Full Gospel Ministries vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and two others.
In the petition, it has been alleged that the respondent authorities did not permit the petitioner to perform namaz inside his house on January 16.
In the earlier Maranatha Full Gospel Ministries case, the court had observed that a person has the right to conduct prayers as per convenience within private premises without seeking permission from the state government. The court had also stated that if any religious activity extends to public roads or public property, the person concerned must inform the police and obtain permission as required under the law.
