MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to allow taxi and autorickshaw drivers to offer namaaz under a temporary shed near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport during the month of Ramazan. The court cited serious security concerns and space restraints in the vicinity of the airport. .
A division bench of justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla said that the airport’s security cannot be compromised “even a bit”, stressing that thousands of passengers from all communities use the airport and their safety is more important than any religious or other considerations.
The court was responding to 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” in the backdrop of the demolition of a prayer shed near the airport in April last year.
According to the petition, a prayer facility had existed for nearly 30 years within the airport’s periphery. It was first relocated in 2020, and was later demolished in April 2025 by the MMRDA. The demolition, the union alleged, was carried out “arbitrarily and without giving any notice” after Santosh Mishra alleged the structure was illegal.
During the hearing on Thursday, the state representative Jyoti Chavan informed the court that the structure was demolished in April 2025 after several agencies flagged security concerns. The agencies allegedly claimed that allowing the structure to operate within airport premises was “is not safe for anyone”.
Additionally, senior advocate Vikram Nankani, appearing for Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), told the court that the airport authorities had explored seven different locations to find an alternate place for the petitioners to offer Nazam during Ramzan. However, a survey report found all the seven sites unsuitable due to safety concerns, space constraints and the ongoing redevelopment work at the airport.
The court criticised the taxi union for only approaching it now during Ramzan, after observing that the demolition was carried out in April 2025 but the petition was filed in January 2026. Despite the delay, the court observed that the authorities, on humanitarian grounds, attempted to find an alternate site for them during Ramzan. “It’s difficult for us to say that all of them are only targeting you”, the court remarked.
Based on MIAL’s survey report, the police, the anti-terrorism cell, and the airport authorities, raised the same security concerns. Noting this, the court said that there is no question of the petitioners getting the structure near the airport. “You can’t say you’ll carry your prayer only here. No one is stopping you to offer your prayer five times a day. We have to look at the larger picture. We can’t go by one community or the other”, the court said.
The bench clarified that the authorities have to keep the area secure, considering the VVIP movements and the ongoing redevelopment of the airport. The court added that the most it can do is, when the airport is being redeveloped, it can allow the taxi union to approach the authorities and ask them if they can have a prayer area where there is no security concern. Accordingly, it disposed of the petition after cautioning the taxi union not to “cause unnecessary issues”.