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HC agrees to hear pleas against Delhi Shahi Imam
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday set Nov 20 as date to hear pleas against the Delhi Shahi Imam’s move to anoint his son as the Naib Imam (deputy Imam).
Three public interest litigations filed in the court said Jama Masjid is a property of the Delhi Wakf Board and Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari (Shahi Imam) as its employee cannot appoint his son as Naib Imam.
A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw said it will hear in detail all the three pleas Thursday as the anointment ceremony is scheduled for Nov 22.
Counsel for Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the central government told the court that Jama Masjid is a historical monument and it has to be decided how rule of primogeniture will apply on succession of Imam or chief cleric.
“It is irrelevant who is invited or who is not invited. It’s disturbing how we treat our history. Jama Masjid is over 100-year-old. It is an admitted position that it’s a waqf property. It is yet to be decided whether rule of primogeniture applies on succession of Imam,” said ASI counsel.
The pleas said Bukhari’s decision to anoint his 19-year-old son, Shaban Bukhari, as the Naib Imam or the “Deputy Imam” is wrong as there is no provision under the Wakf Act for hereditary appointment of the Imam of a mosque.
“Despite knowing that Imam is an employee of the Wakf Board and it’s the board which has the right to appoint an Imam, he (Bukhari) has declared his 19-year-old son to be a Naib Imam and is holding a dastar bandi ceremony for the said purpose, which is purely anti-Islamic,” the pleas said.
Jama Masjid is India’s largest mosque built during the Mughal era.
Besides, the PILs asked the court to declare invalid the appointment of Bukhari as the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid.
The pleas also alleged that there is “complete anarchy and misuse of power” by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid.
Alleging illegal construction within the masjid premises, one of the pleas sought a CBI probe. It also sought directions for the Delhi Wakf Board to take over the affairs of Jama Masjid and appoint an Imam.
The plea also asked the ASI and the central government to declare Jama Masjid a protected monument.
Bukhari recently sparked off a controversy by announcing that he has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the ceremony for annointing his son as the deputy Imam but did not feel the need to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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