PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 7 -- The Allahabad high court has directed police and district administration not to interfere with the right to recite Azan (Islamic call for prayers) five times a day at a mosque in Saharanpur, provided petitioners comply with prescribed noise limits and the court's 2020 judgment on use of loudspeakers. A division bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad issued the order while disposing of a writ petition filed by Shanawaz Khan and five other local residents. The petitioners had sought permission to use loudspeakers for Azan at Ayesha Masjid, alleging that local authorities were obstructing them despite judicial precedents governing the use of sound-amplifying devices. The state government counsel, however, argued that the authorities were not restricting Azan itself but were enforcing permissible decibel levels and operational hours under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. The counsel cited the high court's 2020 judgment in Afzal Ansari v. State of UP, which held that while Azan is an essential Islamic practice, its recitation through loudspeakers or other sound-amplifying devices is not an integral part of the religion. P2...