Muslims in the city are upset over the police "intimidating" them to remove the "cone" speakers atop their mosques for calling out to the faithful to attend Namaz.
The State president of the Indian Union Muslim League, K M Khader Moideen in a statement here alleged that the police had been going around several mosques in south Chennai warning the moulvis that the speakers used for azangh (call for prayer) should be removed as they violated the Supreme Court ban.
Appealing to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to restrain the police, Moideen said azangh lasted barely a couple of minutes and did not disturb the neighbourhood.
"There is no such ban by the Supreme Court, which is violative of the fundamental right of a person to embrace and preach any religion," Moideen said and asked the moulvis of all the mosques in the city to inform the IUML if the police intimidated them.
Joint Commissioner of Police (South) J K Tripathy maintained that "if the boys have enforced the Supreme Court directive, there is nothing wrong with that".
The Supreme Court had passed an order seven years ago that mosques should not use the cone speakers to disturb the neighbourhood.
They argue that there is no provocation
to recall such an old order. "We are planning to move the apex court in
this matter," a Muslim spokesman said.