Access to the mosque inside Kolkata airport has been restricted since July 11, 2026, and the Calcutta High Court is yet to say whether Bankra Mosque prayers can resume while the petition is pending.
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Kolkata: On the question of Bankra Mosque prayers, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday heard the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Union Government resist any interim permission to resume worship at the mosque within the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, citing national security and aviation safety. No order has been passed on the interim prayer, and the matter is next listed on October 9 [Bankra Masjid Committee v. Airports Authority of India and Others].
The petition challenging the restriction on access is before Justice Krishna Rao. Senior Advocate S.N. Mookherjee appeared for the AAI, and Additional Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi for the Centre.
Where the hearing ended
The Court stopped short of ruling on the interim application. In the course of arguments, it asked the AAI’s counsel to clarify who the original owners of the land were. Interim permission for prayers had already been declined at the October 1 hearing.
The petitioners’ side
The petitioners say prayers have been offered at the mosque for about 136 years with no security-related incident, and that devotees used to be security-checked before being taken to it. They want interim permission to worship again until the main petition is decided. At the previous hearing, they had also said they were agreeable to relocating the mosque, provided this is done in an orderly manner and not through an abrupt suspension of prayers.
What the AAI told the Court
The AAI submitted that the mosque stands on land acquired decades ago for airport expansion under a notification dated February 7, 1961, and that compensation and rehabilitation were provided to local residents, including in relation to the mosque. Its counsel argued that the right to practise religion does not extend to a right to practise at a particular place, particularly where national security is involved, and that Namaz can be offered elsewhere.
The restriction, the AAI said, did not come overnight. As per its contentions, the civil aviation authorities wrote to the airport on May 13, 2026 about security deficiencies, and a stakeholder meeting attended by members of the mosque committee followed on May 23. The concerns, it said, relate to aviation security, the movement of people in the airport area and aircraft operations, and access through the airport gate was stopped after the stakeholders were heard. It added that acquiring religious structures for public purposes is legally permissible, and that temples and churches have also been affected by highway acquisitions.
What the Centre told the Court
ASG Trivedi submitted that the Constitution gives mosques no separate exemption from land acquisition, and that the mosque’s position near the runway raises serious security concerns. He also relied on a 2019 report of the Prime Minister’s Office which, according to the Centre, said that airport expansion would not be possible if the mosque stayed where it is. The Centre further submitted that the structure has no heritage status and that fundamental rights cannot be viewed in isolation from public safety and security at an airport. It, too, opposed any interim order.
What is at stake
The petition sets a claimed right to worship at a long-standing place of prayer against the authorities’ stated concerns of aviation and national security. The contentions recorded above are those of the parties and have not been adjudicated. The Court has expressed no view on the merits of the restriction, the land acquisition or any proposal to relocate the mosque, all of which remain to be decided.
Case Title: Bankra Masjid Committee v. Airports Authority of India and Others
Bench: Justice Krishna Rao, Calcutta High Court
Date of Hearing: October 7, 2026
Next Hearing: October 9, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocate S.N. Mookherjee for the Airports Authority of India; Additional Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi for the Centre