New Delhi: The Allahabad high court has ruled that the use of loudspeakers, to deliver Azaan, in mosques is not a fundamental right.

The court's observation came in response to a petition filed by one Irfan of Uttar Pradesh's Budaun district who sought permission to play Azaan using loudspeakers in a mosque, which it dismissed.

The petitioner had moved the court with a plea to quash a December 2021 order by the Bisauli subdivisional magistrate that rejected a request to use a loudspeaker in a mosque for delivering Azaan.

"The law has now been settled that the use of loudspeakers from mosques is not a fundamental right. Even otherwise, a cogent reason has been assigned in the impugned order. Accordingly, we find that the present petition is patently misconceived, hence the same is dismissed," Indian Express quoted a division bench of Justices Vivek Kumar Birla and Vikas Budhwar as saying.

The petitioner's counsel, Sachin Kumar Sharma, had argued that the Bisauli subdivisional magistrate's order violated the fundamental rights of the petitioner to use a loudspeaker in a mosque.

The court then observed that although Azaan is an integral part of Islam, delivering it through loudspeakers is not a part of the religion.

"Azaan is an integral part of Islam, but giving it through loudspeakers is not a part of Islam," ANI quoted the court as saying.

The court then went on to add that there had been previous instances when courts had ruled that call for prayer on loudspeakers was not a fundamental right.

According to Indian Express, in May 2020, the high court had ruled that Azaan might be an essential and integral part of Islam, but the same cannot be said of using sound-amplifying devices, loudspeakers. Therefore, it had said fundamental right of religious freedom enshrined in Article 25 of the constitution cannot be applied in the particular case. Even if so, the court had said, it was subject to public order, morality or health and other provisions of Part III of the constitution.

The May 2020 ruling was in response to petitions filed by Ghazipur MP Afzal Ansari, Congress leader Salman Khurshid and lawyer S. Wasim A Qadri, who moved the court challenging the orders of the Ghazipur, Farrukhabad and Hathras administration that placed a ban on loudspeakers to deliver Azaan as part of COVID-19 curbs.

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