On July 9th, 2018 Supreme Court of India has dismissed a plea challenging the order passed by Agra authority for stopping non-residents of the city from offering Friday prayers at a mosque inside the Taj Mahal complex, stating that "it is among the seven wonders of the world" and needs to be protected.
A bench of Supreme Court of India comprising of Justice A K Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan said that the Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and people have several other mosques to offer their prayers.
This Petition challenged the January 24th, 2018 order which was passed by ADM (City) Agra which said that those who are not residents of Agra, would not be allowed to enter the mosque situated at the Taj Mahal for offering customary prayers on Fridays on grounds of security.
Syed Ibrahim Hussain Zaidi, the chief of the Taj Mahal Masjid Management Committee, represented the petitioner. He called the ban "illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional" and asserted that every person should be permitted to go inside the mosque and offer prayers.
As per the petition "Equal persons have been treated unequally without any reasonableness," suggesting that just as residents were allowed to enter the mosque after being frisked, non-residents could also be permitted inside in the same manner. However, the court rejected the argument.
