Delhi HC directs police to give keys of Nizamuddin Markaz's residential portion to Tablighi Jamaat chief

New Delhi [India], August 23 : In an interim relief, the Delhi High Court on Monday directed the city police to hand over keys of Nizamuddin Markaz's residential portion to Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Muhammad Saad within two days.
Justice Yogesh Khanna, however, directed Maulana Saad not to enter any other portion of the Markaz until further orders.
Issuing notice to respondents, the Court also asked the state government and city police to file a reply on the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on December 9.
The Court was hearing a petition filed by Khalida, who is the mother of Maulana Saad, through advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi.
In his plea, the petitioner sought direction to the Respondents to immediately hand over the keys of residential premises of the petitioner at 168, Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi-13 and to refrain from impeding access to such premises.
The petitioner has sought to set aside trial court order dated December 14, 2020.
The petitioner said he did not challenge the impugned order immediately in hope that the investigation would be concluded soon. However, the investigation is still ongoing and chargesheet is still not filed in connection with FIR. The investigation is running at a snail's pace and therefore, the petitioner herein is constrained to move this Petition, the petitioner said.
The petitioner further said that they have denied access to her residence, whose keys remain with the police officials since April 1, 2020 in alleged connection with FIR registered at Crime Branch.
The FIR alleged violation of COVID-19 protocol by organising an alleged religious congregation in the mosque in Hazrat Nizamuddin in March last year.
"While the allegations referred to the persons who had been left stranded after the sudden imposition of a nationwide lockdown as having allegedly congregated illegally and thereby violated restrictions pertaining to COVID-19, the fact remained that even such allegations related to only the Mosque situated at 168, Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin known as the 'Bangle Wali Masjid'. Be that as it may, on 31.03.2020 itself, not only the aforesaid Bangle Wali Masjid but along with it the entire Markaz premises including the residence of the Petitioner was vacated and locked for the purported purpose of sanitization and disinfection by the authorities," read the petition.
It further stated, "Extending utmost cooperation to the authorities, the keys of the Markaz, including the residence of the Petitioner, were handed over to the Delhi Police on 01.04.2020. Neither the petitioner or her family were aware of any orders made with regard to sealing of the property nor any such information was even verbally communicated as the premises had been stated to have been vacated for the limited purposes of sanitization and disinfection, in light of the pandemic of COVID-19."