New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday refused to allow the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi at Idgah ground in Karnataka's Bengaluru.
The court ordered that status ''quo as of today'' be maintained on the ground and asked both the parties to approach the Karnataka High Court for a hearing in the matter.
The ground in question is located in Chamarajpet in Central Bengaluru and has a Qibla or a wall. Muslims offer Eid prayers here.
On the other hand, in a similar case in Hubli, the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court late at night declined to stay an order of the Hubbali Mayor allowing the celebrations at the Idgah maidan in Hubbali.
Significantly, the Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court had allowed the applications of the Karnataka government seeking the use of the Idgah ground at Chamarajpet. However, the Waqf Board approached the Supreme Court against this and on behalf of the senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued and said that the High Court order would create unnecessary tension.
Amidst the entire controversy, a large number of police have been deployed around the Idgah ground to handle the situation.
Reportedly, around 1600 police personnel in Chamarajpet have been deployed. Apart from this, three DCPs, 21 ACPs, around 49 inspectors, and 130 PSI and Rapid Action Force (RAF) have also been deployed to ensure peace and harmony.
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