The Calcutta High Court on October 1 declined immediate permission to resume prayers at Bankra Mosque within Kolkata airport’s operational area. Justice Krishna Rao listed the case for October 7. Thursday’s interim decision does not finally settle the access dispute or order the mosque’s relocation.
The mosque committee’s lawyer argued that worshippers had used the site for decades and that access was stopped on July 11. Petitioners sought regulated entry and said alternative arrangements could protect religious practice. Kolkata TV and India Hood reported their contention that the mosque’s land had not been acquired; that remains a party’s submission, not an established finding here.
Airport and central-government lawyers opposed immediate access on aviation-security grounds, citing the mosque’s proximity to operational areas. Republic World reported that petitioners were open to relocation but objected to abruptly stopping prayers. The hearing concerns how religious access and airport safety should be addressed; it does not establish wrongdoing by worshippers or resolve the disputed land position.