Six years after pandemic, Allahabad HC quashes criminal proceedings against accused duo in Nizamuddin Markaz case

More than six years after two men in Jaunpur were booked for allegedly visiting the Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Allahabad High Court, in an order passed on September 18, 2026, quashed the criminal proceedings against them, holding that the case was based on “presumption and assumption”.

Justice Gautam Chowdhary, in an order passed on September 18, 2026, quashed the FIR against Mohd Faizan and another man, noting that if the proceedings were allowed to continue, it would result in the “abuse of process of court as well as process of law”.

The two were booked under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 along with other charges, including attempt to murder.