MUMBAI: A magistrate court acquitted 20 foreigners on Monday Tablighi Jamaat delegates who had been booked for violating Covid-related regulations and meeting in a mosque, reports Rebecca Samervel.
In two separate judgments, the Indonesian and the Kyrgyz Republic the citizens were found innocent on a single count under the Bombay Police Act, which by an enacted order prohibits any gathering of persons to preserve public order.
Delegates, who had come to India to attend the Tablighi congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz – perceived as a Covid-spreading event – can return to their home countries after being stranded in Mumbai for more than seven months.
Referring to the evidence of two witnesses, policemen who investigated the cases, the court said that neither had the opportunity to see the defendants together in the form of an assembly.
“The prosecution witnesses admitted that they have not seen the accused contravene the instructions or orders issued by the authorities. Nor were the witnesses found in a position to say where and how the defendants were residing at the time of the alleged crime, ”said Metropolitan Magistrate RR Khan. “It is true that the accused are foreigners; therefore, they are not familiar with the local language and state law, ”he said.
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