Nizamuddin centre can’t be kept locked forever: HC

The case registered in relation to the alleged violation of COVID-19 protocols at Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) — where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March last year amid COVID-19 pandemic

The case registered in relation to the alleged violation of COVID-19 protocols at Nizamuddin Markaz (centre) — where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March last year amid COVID-19 pandemic — is serious and has “cross borders implications”, the Centre told the High Court which on Monday remarked that the premises can’t be kept locked forever. Justice Mukta Gupta, who was hearing the Delhi Waqf Board’s plea to reopen the centre which has remained shut since March 31 last year, questioned the Centre as to how long it intended to keep the Nizamuddin centre locked, saying it can’t be “kept forever”. Counsel for the Centre stated that a legal action to reopen the centre can only be initiated by the lessee of the property and a resident of the premises has already filed a plea to handover the residential portion of the centre, which is pending final adjudication before another judge of the High Court.