Only one panthaky and one mobed from two separate agiaries and their respective behdins came to pray at Doongerwadi on September 3, 2020, on account of Fravardin roz, Fravardin mah, Ervad Patrasp Bajan told Parsiana on September 6. He now prays at the sagdi at Doongerwadi around the year. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) had moved the Bombay High Court (BHC) to obtain permission for the devout to congregate for prayers at the Tower of Silence estate.
The order passed by Justices R. D. Dhanuka and J. Jamdar in response to the BPP appeal was received only at about 4 p.m. on September 2. "By then most panthakies had made provision for prayers to take place in their respective fire temples,” said one mobed who practices at a South Bombay agiary. When he visited Doongerwadi at 9 a. m. to pay his respects, he observed "only four or five behdins in the pavilion... In a normal year, there would have been over 100 behdins congregating by 6 a.m.,” he mentioned.
At their August 25, 2020 meeting, the BPP board "agreed to the request of (BPP trustee) Viraf Mehta to try and get a one-day special permission on behalf of the board from the BHC” for Parsis to congregate at Doongerwadi, reported the Parsi Junction (PJ) weekly of September 6. Advocate Prakash Shah who represented the BPP filed the petition on August 27. When Shah moved the Court of Justice Shahrukh Kathawala for an urgent hearing, it was reportedly not heard, with the remark "Not before me.” At the next hearing on August 31, advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni representing the government asked "whether the petition is filed by Viraf Mehta in his personal capacity or on behalf of the BPP,” reported PJ. Shah informed the Court that the petition was filed on behalf of the BPP and not by Mehta in his individual capacity and assured the Court that the appropriate resolution would be made available.
Representational image of the sagdi at Doongerwadi
The Court then directed state principal secretary Amitabh Gupta and secretary disaster management department Kishor Nimbalkar to hear Mehta on the same day. Viraf and Doongerwadi manager Vistasper Mehta "met the officers at Mantralaya who refused to give an exemption except a symbolic gesture of allowing one family to pray for all Parsis at Doongerwadi.” An additional affidavit filed by Mehta explained that "that there will be no large congregations,” noted PJ.
The BPP’s circular to community members stated that "no more than 30 devotees and 10 priests will be allowed to congregate at the pavilions per hour.” Pavilions were to be sanitized at intervals of 30 minutes. Children below 10 and the elderly above 65 would not be permitted, according to the communication. Records of arrivals and departures, and the temperature of those coming in to offer prayers would be maintained.
Was the court dispensation a success? "The entire day went off smoothly. (The community) can do many things hali mali né (jointly),” Viraf told Parsiana on September 10. He was especially grateful to Shah and Durgaprasad Pujari from the lawyer’s office, who worked on the case pro bono. As stated BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala "Yes, 200 Parsis did get the opportunity to pray.” Reportedly, the Court mandated maximum attendance of 200 was reached at 1.30 p.m.