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Agencies / Allahabad

The Allahabad High Court on Friday allowed the recitation of ‘azan’ (prayer) by a single individual in Uttar Pradesh mosques but without using any loudspeaker during the COVID-19 lockdown.

A bench of justices Shashi Kant Guipta and Ajit Kumar granted the relief to the Muslim community saying that “Azan may be an essential and integral part of Islam” but its “recitation through loudspeakers or other sound amplifying devices cannot be said to be an integral part of the religion.”

A division bench of Justices Shashi Kant Gupta and Ajit Kumar passed the order on the Public Interest Litigations separately filed by Lok Sabha MP from Ghazipur Afzal Ansari and former MP and former Union Minister from Farrukhabad Salman Khurshid. The court had heard the petitions on May 5 through video-conferencing and had reserved its order.

During the hearing, the state government defended its administrative restrictions on Azan saying that “Azan is a call for congregation to offer prayers at the Mosque and is therefore in violation of the Guidelines for containing the pandemic.”

The bench said that the “petitioner has not been able to explain why, Azan cannot be offered without the use of sound amplifying devices. It will be not out of place to mention that in the past, during old days when the loud­speaker was not invented, Azan used to be given by human voice. The use of microphone is a practice developed by someone and not by the Prophet or his main disciples, and which was not there in the past, and that the microphone is of recent origin and accordingly it could not be said that the use of microphone and loud­speaker is essential and integral part of the Azan. There is no such religious order which prescribes that Azan can be recited only through loud­speakers or by any amplifiers. Azan is certainly an essential and integral part of Islam but use of microphone and loud­speakers is not an essential and an integral part thereof. Microphone is a gift of technological age, its adverse effect is well felt all over the world. It is not only a source of pollution but it is also a source which causes several health hazardous. Traditionally and according to the religious order, Azan has to be recited by the Imam or the person in charge of the Mosques through their own voice. Right to religion, by no stretch of imagination, ought to be practised, professed and propagated saying that microphone has become an essential part of the religion.”

The court also raised the sound pollution issue and fundamental rights of people.

The court ruled: “Hence it is ruled that while the right to offer Azan by voice, without the use of sound amplifying devices is a right protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. However, the right to recite Azan though sound amplifying devices is not protected under Article 25, since it is not an integral part of Islam. In any view of the matter, the restriction on the use of sound amplifying devices, is subject to the Noise Pollution Rules which is reasonable and valid.”

HC Rejects Administrative Restrictions on Azan through Human Voice

The court, however, also rejected the UP government’s arguments against recitation of Azan in the wake of the petitioners’ submission that Azan during lockdown is not being called for congregation in mosques. The court said Azan through human voice does not violate any law or guidelines related to Covid-19

The bench noted that the government “has not been able to explain as to how the recitation of Azan merely through human voice can be violative of any provision of law or any guidelines issued by the State Government/Government of India in view of Covid­19 pandemic. It is neither a case of the petitioners nor of the State that the Muslims of any of the districts­ Ghazipur, Hathras, Farrukhabad or as a matter of fact any District in the State of Uttar Pradesh, are gathering in any mosque for the purpose of offering prayers at the mosque.

We fail to understand as to how the recital of Azan by a single person in the mosque i.e. Muezzin/Imaam or any other authorised person, through human voice without using any amplifying device, asking the Muslims to offer prayer and that too without inviting them to the mosque, can be violative of any guidelines. Merely reciting of Azan from the mosque through human voice does not cause any health hazards to any person of the society.”

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