India court acquits foreigners over Tabligh event during pandemic
Al JazeeraNew Delhi, India – An Indian court has acquitted 36 foreign nationals charged with violating COVID-19 protocol by attending a Muslim religious congregation in the capital New Delhi. The court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Arun Kumar Garg on Tuesday said the prosecution had failed to prove that the foreign nationals charged in August had, in fact, been present at the New Delhi headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary movement, between March 12 and April 1. “It’s a great win, not only for the foreigners but also for the public here… you want justice, you can go to the court and the justice system is in such a way that if you are on side of the truth, you can win the case and we have proved that,” 39-year-old Irfan, one of the acquitted foreign nationals who only gave his first name, told Al Jazeera. In August, a Mumbai court had also struck down criminal cases against 34 Tablighi Jamaat members, including 29 foreign nationals, over similar charges.