Kerala HC orders to close down illegal religious places, prayer halls

The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the State Chief Secretary and the Police Chief to take necessary steps to close down religious places and prayer halls functioning without obtaining permission from the competent authorities.

Justice P V Kunhikrishnan dismissed a petition filed by the Malappuram based Noorul Islam Samskarika Sangam, seeking to change a commercial building to a place of worship, on the ground that five-time prayer is necessary for the community and a prayer hall is necessary in the vicinity.

Noting that there were as many as 36 places of worship situated within a five km



radius of the commercial building, the Court said the government and local bodies must be vigilant while granting permission for religious places and prayer halls in future. It also quoted intelligence and police reports which stated that the conversion of the commercial building to a prayer hall could lead to communal disharmony.

The Court directed the Chief Secretary to issue a separate order prohibiting change of category of a building to a religious place except in inevitable and in the rarest of cases, relying on the reports of police and intelligence agencies.