NEW DELHI – The top court of India has barred outsiders – non-residents of Agra – from offering Friday prayers at the mosque in the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
A bench of the supreme court comprising Justice AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan while rejecting a plea against the Agra authority’s order barring the outsiders from performing Friday prayers in the monument remarked that the world heritage site cannot be decimated, Indian media reported on Monday.
There are several other mosques in the city where the non-local could offer the prayers, the top court observed, adding that the preservation of the Taj Mahal is paramount. The bench added there is no need to perform prayers at the monument’s mosque.
Taking security measures, the district authorities on January 24 issued an order that only locals with valid identity cards will be allowed to enter the mosque to offer prayers on Fridays. The order was later challenged in the apex court.
The Taj Mahal remains closed for tourists on Fridays. The administration’s move came following complaints that “outsiders”, including Bangladeshis and non-Indians”, enter the Taj Mahal complex on Fridays on the pretext of offering ‘namaz,’ Times of India reported.
Similar orders were issued in 2013 by the Archaeological Survey of India but these were not enforced properly, said an official.
