Calcutta High Court denies interim permission for pilgrims to offer prayers at the 136-year-old Bankra mosque inside Kolkata airport.
Airport authorities cite the mosque’s proximity to the runway and past security breaches.
The mosque reportedly dates to the 1890s and predates the airport, with discussions over relocating it also taking place during the case.
On Thursday, the Calcutta High Court denied interim permission to pilgrims seeking to offer prayers at the 136-year-old Bankra mosque inside the Kolkata airport premises, LiveLaw reported. In court, the state authorities raised national security concerns while also referring to the recent flydubai incident during the hearing.
The petition, filed before Justice Krishna Rao, sought to overturn restrictions on entry imposed by the airport authorities, citing security reasons. Senior advocate Kishore Dutta argued that earlier access arrangements had allowed devotees to reach the mosque during prayer hours.
Additional Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi, appearing for the authorities, opposed the plea on grounds of national security.
Mosque Near Runway
Restrictions on entry to the mosque were imposed in July, while discussions over its possible relocation also took place.
According to the report, the petitioners stated that under the earlier arrangements, pilgrims underwent security screening before being transported by a bus provided by the CISF authorities to offer their prayers.
The airport authorities responded by stating that the mosque was located near the runway and that there had been previous reported security breaches in which unauthorised people were found on the apron.
Possible Relocation
During the hearing, it was also stated that the petitioners were agreeable to the mosque being relocated to another location, the report said.
However, Dutta argued that the move could have been carried out in a systematic manner instead of abruptly suspending prayers at the mosque.
ASG Trivedi also stated that before 1993, there were no known security threats, but that after the Red Fort attack in 2025, the risk of attacks had increased.
The Mosque’s History
The small mosque inside Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport predates the airport itself by several decades. According to reports citing airport authorities and local residents, the mosque has existed since the 1890s, when the area around what is now the airport’s secondary runway was still a village.
The precursor to the present-day Kolkata airport was established in 1924 near the old Royal Artillery Armoury, now part of Dum Dum Cantonment. At the time, human settlements, including the village around the mosque, continued to exist to the west of the aerodrome.
As air traffic increased in the 1950s and 1960s, the airport expanded westwards and a secondary runway was built. Villages north and west of the primary runway were cleared during the expansion, with residents relocated across Jessore Road to what is now Madhyamgram.
The mosque, however, continued to be used by local Muslims even after it became enclosed within the airport’s operational area. A local worshipper told The Times of India in 2019 that the mosque was also recorded in the airport’s land deed.
Over the decades, the airport expanded further, aircraft became larger and aviation safety regulations grew more stringent. As a result, the mosque’s location within the operational area increasingly became a point of concern for airport authorities.
