Today, On 17th November, The Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging the bar on civilian prayers inside a Chennai military mosque, stressing that security concerns must take priority. The Court said “security cannot be compromised” while upholding the restriction within the cantonment area.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed a petition on Monday concerning the prohibition of civilians from praying in a mosque within the military quarters in Chennai, citing potential security concerns.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued this ruling while reviewing a challenge to an April 2025 decision from a division bench of the Madras High Court, which had upheld a single judge’s ruling.
The High Court’s division bench stated that it could not intervene in the administrative decision made by military authorities, which restricted access to Army premises for worship or other purposes.
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The petitioner’s counsel argued that access to the ‘Masjid-E-Aalishaan’ had only been restricted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bench remarked in response,
“How can we allow that? There are security issues and so many things,”
While the counsel pointed out that there had been no security issues from 1877 to 2022, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the lower court’s decision.
Previously, the petitioner had claimed that the Army command was denying civilians the right to pray at the mosque within military quarters.
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The division bench had noted that the station commander rejected the petitioner’s representation verbally in June 2021, emphasizing that the ‘Masjid-E-Aalishaan’ was primarily designated for personnel associated with the unit and strictly off-limits to outsiders, as stipulated by the Cantonment Land Administration Rules of 1937.
The High Court reiterated that it was within the administration’s right to decide on granting access to outsiders.
Citing the Cantonment Land Administration Rules of 1937, the authority opted not to allow civilian access, and the High Court declined to set-aside the single judge’s dismissal of the petition.