Bombay High Court tells three to clean mosque

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed three youngsters, including the complainant, to perform community services in a mosque in Byculla for two Fridays to get an FIR, filed against them in an assault case, quashed. The complainant and accused are relatives and got into a brawl outside the local mosque after Friday prayers in November, after which the FIR was registered. However, they approached the high court saying they have resolved the issue amicably and wanted the FIR to be quashed.

A division bench of Justice V.M. Kanade and Justice Nutan Sardessai allowed the application filed by Mohammed Nauman Khan (19), Mohammed Anas Khan (23) and Lukman Khan (29), seeking to quash the FIR registered against them at the Byculla police station under sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 144 (joining unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

According to the police, after Friday prayers on November 18, when Mohammed Zaid Khan (23) came out of New Masjid, a local mosque, his relatives Zafar Khan, Javed Khan, Asfhaque Khan and others got into an altercation with him. Then, three of his cousins, Javed Khan, Nauman Khan and Anas Khan, attacked him and ultimately Zaid had to be rushed to J.J. Hospital. After recording his statements, the police then registered an FIR against those who had assaulted him. However, the accused and complainant later patched up and the youths moved the Bombay high court seeking that the FIR be quashed.

Following this, on November 30, the bench had suggested that these youths could clean the local mosque as community service to get the FIR quashed. Finally, while issuing directions on Wednesday, the bench observed that though there is no provision of community service in the Indian Penal Code, in such matters, the high court could issue direction to the applicants to perform community services.

The bench then directed the trio as well as the complainant to carry out cleaning and other work at the same mosque where they were involved in the fight. They are supposed to do this community service for two Fridays from morning to afternoon.