The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that individuals do not need permission from authorities to hold religious prayer meetings at home if no law is violated. It quashed police notices against petitioners from Janjgir-Champa district and directed officials not to interfere with their civil rights.
Petitioners, residents of Godhna village in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district, have been organising prayer meetings for Christianity believers on the first floor of their house since 2016. They alleged interference by Nawagarh police, who served notices three times to restrain them, and the gram panchayat, which withdrew an earlier no-objection certificate.
The petitioners claimed this violated Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. The state counsel sought time to reply, noting criminal cases against the petitioners, their time in jail, and that they never sought permission for the meetings.
Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi refused additional time for the state and quashed the police notices. The court stated, “The petitioners are registered owner of the land where they used to organise ‘prayer meeting’ of the followers of Christianity at their dwelling house … Further, there is no need to get prior permission from any authority for conducting prayer/prayer meetings, if the same is organised without violating any law … Consequently, the respondents/police authorities are directed not to interfere with the civil rights of the petitioners and also shall not harass them under the guise of enquiry or so.”
