Mumbai: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has said that the foreign nationals, who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event held in Delhi in March this year, were made “scapegoats” and allegations were levelled that they were responsible for spreading COVID-19 in the country. The court also criticized the propaganda made by the media about this and also canceled the FIR registered on the jamatis from abroad. The decision is welcomed by the Islamic organization Jamiat Ulam-e Hind.
The bench of Justice TV Nalvade and Justice MG Sevalikar heard petitions from people associated with the Tablighi Jamaat of Ghana, Tanzania, Indonesia, Benin and some other countries. The petitioners stated that they had come to India on valid visas. When he arrived at the airport, he was screened, corona tested and he was allowed to leave the airport only when he was negative.
A division bench of Justices T V Nalawade and M G Sewlikar made the observations on August 21 while quashing the FIRs filed against 29 foreigners, who had attended the event.
The bench also noted that while the Maharashtra police acted mechanically in the case, the state government acted under “political compulsion”.
The 29 foreign nationals were booked under various provisions of the IPC, the Epidemic Diseases Act, Disaster Management Act and Foreigner’s Act for allegedly violating their tourist visa conditions by attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held at Nizamuddin in the national capital.
The bench in its order noted that there was a big propaganda against the foreigners who had come to the Markaz in Delhi.
“A political government tries to find the scapegoat when there is pandemic or calamity and the circumstances show that there is probability that these foreigners were chosen to make them a scapegoat,” the court said in its order.
