Kolkata: A Calcutta High Court judge cited Wednesday’s stabbing of a flydubai pilot by his co-pilot while hearing a case on Thursday on denial of “regulated access” to Bankra mosque, located near the runway on the Kolkata airport premises.Justice Krishna Rao made the reference after additional solicitor general Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi submitted, “This happens only in India where logical expectations go beyond national security,” and senior advocate SN Mookherjee, appearing for Airports Authority of India (AAI), said several security breaches had been detected, including instances of unauthorised people being spotted on the runway.Justice Rao said, “Now, you cannot say only in India. Now it’s all over the world. Nobody can imagine yesterday’s incident. If that happens, we don’t know where there is security.”The judge was referring to the mid-air cockpit confrontation aboard a Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flydubai Flight FZ1073 that had to be diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.The exchange happened during the hearing of a case related to Bankra mosque, which predates the century-old Kolkata airport. According to the mosque committee, “regulated access” to the 136-year-old mosque was abruptly stopped by AAI on July 11. No namaz has since been offered at Bankra Masjid, also known as Gouripur Jame Masjid, which the authorities want relocated on airport safety grounds.The airport authorities told the court that the committee, which has challenged the denial of access, was “agreeable” to shifting it. Senior advocate Mookherjee said: “They are agreeable to shift the mosque elsewhere. I will show the documents, which are being suppressed.”Senior advocate Kishore Datta, appearing for the mosque committee, submitted that any action must follow the due process. “Do that. But not like this… My argument is that everything has a process. Maintain that process,” he said.Datta added that if there had been a security breach, the authorities should have acted against the individuals responsible. “What stopped the state from taking steps against them? It is unnatural that somebody will roam around,” he submitted.Pointing out that there had been no security concern over the past 50 years, the lawyer submitted that granting regulated access to the mosque for some more time would not have created a problem. Worshippers were not entering freely but were being escorted from the gate to the mosque and back after producing identity cards, he said.Additional solicitor general Trivedi then opposed the plea and cited the security breaches that had been detected.When Datta sought an interim order allowing prayers at the mosque, Trivedi said, “Prayers can be offered anywhere. Under the Holy Quran, it’s not that it is that place.” Justice Rao then remarked, “Provide one room in the airport itself.”Outside court, the mosque committee, which had earlier maintained that it could not take a decision on relocation, indicated a change in stance. Jamil Ahmad, a member of the committee and regular worshipper at the mosque, told TOI, “Namaz has to be allowed. Discussions can be held simultaneously on relocation of the mosque.”The committee had previously said that although they understood the challenges posed by the mosque’s location, they were not empowered to decide on its relocation because it was the house of God. They had instead asked the authorities to consult Darul Uloom Deoband, Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind before taking a decision.The mosque has been a contentious issue for decades. Located deep inside the airport’s operational area, it has been cited as a safety risk and an obstacle to flight operations. Earlier, 10 to 25 devotees offered namaz there five times a day. They were frisked by CISF personnel at the Jessore Road gate to the airport compound before being taken to the mosque and brought back.END
