The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has told the Calcutta High Court that the land on which Kolkata’s 136-year-old Bankra mosque stands was acquired by the Central Government decades ago and that the mosque committee therefore has no legal claim over the property.
The submission came during a hearing on a petition by the Bankra Masjid Committee seeking interim relief to allow devotees to offer prayers, particularly Friday prayers, at the mosque, PTI reported.
Access to the mosque has been suspended since July following security concerns raised by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
Appearing for the AAI, Senior Advocate S N Mukherjee said the land was acquired for airport runway expansion and compensation was paid to affected residents. He cited a government notification dated February 7, 1961.
Mukherjee argued that while people have the right to practise their religion, they cannot claim a right to worship at a specific location, particularly when airport security is involved.
He also told the court that authorities held a meeting in May with stakeholders, including the mosque committee, over security concerns. According to the AAI, the mosque’s location creates difficulties for flight operations during take-offs and landings.
Additional Solicitor General Dheeraj Dwivedi, representing the CISF, said the restrictions were not linked to any law-and-order problem. Referring to a confidential 2024 report from an international aviation authority, he argued that national security must take precedence over public interest.
Dwivedi further argued that the Places of Worship Act does not apply to the dispute because the issue concerns the mosque’s location near the runway. He said authorities had offered an alternative site in Jessore, on the city side, but the mosque committee had refused to relocate.
West Bengal Additional Advocate General Billwadal Bhattacharya also maintained that the case was not about converting a place of worship or altering a heritage structure. Instead, he said, it concerns government-acquired land and airport security.
The mosque committee has rejected the security concerns. Its counsel told the court that no such problems had arisen during the mosque’s 136-year history and that devotees were previously allowed to enter after security checks.
Before the restrictions, around 70 devotees reportedly prayed at the mosque each day in different time slots after showing their Aadhaar cards to CISF personnel.
The Calcutta High Court will hear the matter again on October 9.
The case comes amid another dispute involving a mosque near an airport in Mumbai, where BMC airport authorities recently moved to disconnect the water supply to a mosque adjoining Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport following a campaign by BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya.
The developments come amid growing disputes over mosques and other Muslim religious structures in different parts of the country.
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