India, Feb. 27 -- Citing security concerns and frequent VVIP movement at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), the Maharashtra government on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that taxi and autorickshaw drivers cannot be permitted to offer namaz at a temporary shed within the airport premises.

A division bench of Justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla then directed the state and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to identify an alternative site in the vicinity of the airport where drivers could offer namaz during Ramzan. The direction comes in the backdrop of the demolition of a prayer shed near the airport earlier this year.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the Ta...