BENGALURU | The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a plea that the content of the bank call violates the rights of other religions. There is nothing in the bank call that violates Articles 25 and 26 which deal with freedom of religion. There is nothing in the call to prayer to hurt the feelings of other religious people. Therefore, the contention of the petitioner cannot be sustained. A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajit Shetty stated that such pleas only serve to create misunderstanding.
The lawyer appearing for the petitioner Chandrashekhar argued that while bank calling is an unavoidable part of the Muslim faith order, some of its practices affect the faith of other religions. He also advocated for a complete ban on calling banks using loudspeakers from mosques.
The bench stopped the lawyer who tried to read the bank lines. You are arguing that your fundamental rights are being violated just by hearing these sentences. Then the court asked why they were being read
Article 25(1) of the Constitution provides citizens with the fundamental right to believe, practice and propagate the religion of their choice. But this is not an unfettered right. This right should not prejudice public order, morals, health etc. Here, the bench asked how the bank, when calling through loudspeaker or not, is infringing on the rights of others, apart from inviting the faithful for prayers.