Bankra Mosque row brings airport security, religious rights into focus

Kolkata, Oct. 2 -- The dispute over access to the 136-year-old Bankra Mosque inside Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport has brought into focus the legal balance between the constitutional right to practise religion and statutory restrictions governing access to security-sensitive airport areas.

The mosque committee has challenged the restriction on access, saying devotees were earlier permitted to offer prayers after security screening and were transported to and from the mosque under a controlled arrangement. Airport authorities have cited security concerns, including alleged instances of unauthorised persons entering the airport's apron area. The mosque is within the airport's operational area and close to the runway.

Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion.

The right is expressly subject to public order, morality and health and the other provisions of Part III. Article 26 separately protects the rights of religious denominations to manage their religious affairs and administer their property, subject to public order, morality and health.

A key Supreme Court precedent is the 1994 Constitution Bench judgment in M Ismail Faruqui v Union of India.

The court held that Article 25 does not necessarily confer a right to worship at every place of worship. While offering prayers is a religious practice, worship at a particular location is not necessarily an essential and integral part of that practice unless the place has particular religious significance.

The separate aviation-security framework is contained in the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2011. The rules provide for security-restricted areas and controlled access. Rule 19 requires persons and specified items to undergo security screening before entering such areas and permits refusal of admission or removal from the aerodrome where considered necessary or expedient in the interest of security.

The legal questions in the Bankra dispute are therefore whether the claimed religious right extends to access to this particular mosque, how the aviation-security powers apply to a pre-existing place of worship within the airport's controlled area, and whether the two legal regimes can operate through regulated access.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.