The Bombay High Court on June 6 directed the Secretary of the Cultural Affairs Ministry, Maharashtra Government, to take a decision—preferably the same day—on a plea seeking permission to perform Namaaz at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan. The order came from a vacation bench comprising Justices Dr. Neela Gokhale and Manjusha Deshpande.

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The court observed that the petitioner, Umer Abdul Jabbar Gopalani, had challenged only the order passed by the Gamdevi Police Station, which had denied permission for holding mass Namaaz at the iconic ground. The police had cited possible traffic congestion and potential "law and order" issues as the basis for the refusal.

"The petitioner contends that Namaaz has been offered at August Kranti Maidan for nearly five decades without any disturbance to public order," the court recorded.

Gopalani further stated that he had also secured letters from the city’s Traffic Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which had no objection, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions. However, Chief Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegavkar clarified that these authorities had not granted final permission but merely expressed conditional readiness to do so.

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During the hearing, Justice Gokhale referred to a 2006 order passed by a coordinate bench of the High Court, which had clarified that any permission to use August Kranti Maidan must be granted by a competent authority. Since the ground is classified as a “protected monument,” the appropriate authority is the Secretary of the Cultural Affairs and Social Justice Ministry.

“The competent authority under the 2006 judgment is the Secretary, Cultural Affairs and Social Justice Ministry of the State,” the bench pointed out.

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Taking this into account, the court allowed the petitioner to amend his petition to include the competent authority as a party. The court further directed that the said authority consider the petitioner’s representation without delay, preferably on the same day.

With this direction, the court disposed of the petition.

The matter is now to be handled by the statutory authority concerned, and a prompt decision is expected, the court stated while concluding the proceedings.