In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court on Thursday quashed 16 criminal cases registered against 70 Indian nationals who had hosted foreign attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held at Nizamuddin Markaz in March 2020, during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, while delivering the verdict, succinctly stated, “Chargesheets quashed,” putting an end to the long-standing legal proceedings stemming from the controversial religious gathering that drew widespread attention during the nationwide lockdown.
The petitions, filed by the accused Indians through advocate Ashima Mandla, sought the quashing of FIRs that were lodged on allegations of violating prohibitory orders and hosting foreign nationals who attended the religious congregation in alleged contravention of pandemic-related restrictions.
The Delhi Police had earlier opposed the pleas, contending that the local residents had knowingly violated lockdown rules by sheltering foreign Tablighi attendees in March 2020, a time when public movement was strictly restricted to curb the spread of the virus.
The Tablighi Jamaat congregation had emerged as one of the early COVID-19 hotspots in the country and triggered a massive crackdown by authorities, with both foreign and Indian nationals facing legal action under the Epidemic Diseases Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
With this judgment, the High Court has provided relief to the 70 Indian petitioners, effectively closing a chapter that had become symbolic of the legal and political complexities surrounding the enforcement of pandemic regulations.
