New Delhi: In an important decision for the Hajj pilgrims from India, the Haj Committee of India on Thursday submitted in Delhi High Court that there will not be any bar on persons with disabilities if they wish to travel for Haj.
Citing a bizarre reason, the Modi government had last year barred pilgrims with disabilities from travelling to Makkah for Haj. The Modi government told the Delhi High Court that it had decided not to allow disables for Haj because "they may go there and indulge in begging".
"The purpose is to strictly screen the disabled due to instances of such people indulging in begging, which is prohibited in Saudi Arabia", the Ministry of Minority Affairs had said in an affidavit filed before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar.
The affidavit, filed in response to a PIL against the bar on differently-abled people from performing Haj pilgrimage, further said the prohibitions in the earlier policy for the years 2013-2017 were retained in the new one as it was the practice for the last 30 years.
The Modi government however informed the Delhi High Court on Thursday about its decision to lift the ban on differently-abled people from performing Haj pilgrimage.
According to news agency ANI, the Haj Committee of India apprised the Delhi High Court of the amended eligibility criteria, which states that persons with disabilities can now perform Haj.
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Supreme Court advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal wherein he challenged the Haj Policy on the grounds of being discriminatory to disabled and mentally ill persons.
He had alleged that the restrictions stand in violation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
Meanwhile, the Haj Committee of India is receiving Haj Application Form (HAF) from those Muslims who are planning Haj travel in 2019. The Haj Application Form (HAF) can be downloaded from Haj Committee of India website. The last date of application is November 17, 2018.
Coinciding with Eid al Adha, Haj is the annual ritual to commemorate the sacrifices made by Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hager and his son Prophet Ismael. The likely date of Wuqoof e Arafat - the key ritual of the Hajj, is August 09 or 10. As the Islamic calendar is based on sighting of moon, the final date will be decided once the new moon of the month of Dhul Hijjah is sighted. Last year, Wuqoof e Arafat was on August 20, 2018.
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