MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) if it would, on humanitarian grounds, allow taxi and autorickshaw drivers to offer namaaz during the month of Ramzan in the vicinity of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
A division bench of justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla was hearing a petition filed by Taxi-Rickshaw Ola-Uber Men’s Union on January 19, to “protect the fundamental rights of thousands of devotees, who have been deprived of a place of temporary worship inside the airport premises”.
The petition said there was a prayer shed for Muslims inside the airport periphery where they had been allowed to pray for 30 years. It was a semi-permanent, safe, and accessible structure, used by nearly 1,500 to 2,000 people daily. The prayer hall was also used for opening and breaking the fast during Ramzan. However, on August 18, 2020, the GVK Group, the earlier operator of the then Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) informed the Taxi Union that the prayer hall had been shifted to another location in the vicinity of the airport.
In October 2020, the union wrote to the deputy commissioner of police and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GVK Group highlighting the inadequate facilities at the new site and also pointed out that CCTV cameras had not been reinstalled in the area. In December 2024, the prayer hall was finally shifted again from the parking area to a location near the petrol pump in the vicinity of the airport.
The union claimed that once again there were no CCTV cameras and added that there were some issues with the wazukhana, the area where Muslims clean themselves before offering namaz. Between January 1 and March 14 the union wrote several letters to the airport authorities and the senior police inspector of the airport police station
However, on April 5, 2025, the prayer hall was demolished by the MMRDA. In their recent plea, the union said the demolition was done “arbitrarily and without giving any notice to the Union”. A document received via the Right to Information Act, revealed that the demotion was carried out over complaints filed by Santosh Mishra, who claimed that the prayer hall was illegal. The union then wrote several letters to the MMRDA, senior police inspectors, and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too, but got no response.
The petitioners finally approached the high court on January 19, stating that “ in no realm of legality can the prayer hall be said to be unauthorised or illegal”. “Respondents (the MMRDA and airport authorities) have acted beyond the contours of law and thereby, acted with discrimination and selective secularism,” the petition said. The petition added that there were two Hindu temples which were kept well-maintained within the same airport premises, and by protecting one set of religious structures while demolishing another, the authorities have violated the “negative equality” principle, which allows the same benefit to all.
“While the Petitioner respects all faiths, the selective demolition of only the Muslim place of worship is a clear act of discrimination”, the petition stated. The petition further highlighted that the sudden demolition of the prayer space has caused deep resentment among thousands of taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers, who ply at the airport daily, as well as the passengers and airport workers. “Especially since the holy month of Ramzan is approaching, it would cause great difficulty for airport staff as well, and the union, including all those who are connected to services at the airport”, it said.
The Union also informed the court that on December 20, 2025, the MIAL had assured the Union that a temporary prayer hall would be provided to them for the month of Ramzan. However, the union said that the authorities “have not come good on their assurance and promise”, and sought a direction from the court to order the Adani Airport Holdings Ltd., MIAL, and the state authorities to either restore the prayer hall or provide an alternate prayer space at the airport premises.