Saudi Arabia to open mosques for Friday prayers after May 31
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, decided that it will open mosques in the kingdom for weekly Friday prayers after May 31, till June 20 except in Makkah. The move comes in line with the kingdom’s efforts of relaxing the lockdown measures.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs said the mosques will be open for the public for weekly prayers from May 31 till June 20.
A circular issued to mosque staff by Sheikh Abdullatif bin Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al-Asheikh, the Islamic affairs minister, said windows and doors must be open at all times and copies of the Qur’an must be temporarily withdrawn.
“Worshippers must keep two meters apart and leave a row of space empty between each row,” he said.
He further added that people should strictly wear facemasks at all times and bring their prayer mats with them while also performing ablution at home. However, entry of children below 15 years age will be restricted and the Imam will have to make sure that there is no overcrowding while people are entering and exiting the mosque.
Water coolers and the distribution of food and drinks are not permitted, as well as incense and miswak, which is used to clean teeth. Mosques must also close all toilets and places of ablution.
Smaller mosques can open 15 minutes before the call to prayer and should close 10 minutes after they finish.
Mosques with larger crowds can open 20 minutes before prayers and should close 20 minutes after they finish, and the sermon should not last more than 15 minutes.
The Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, which attract millions of travelers from around the world, will remain suspended until further notice, the ministry said.
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SC stays UGC regulation pertaining to definition of caste discrimination
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a recent University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation after various pleas were filed contending that the Commission adopted a non-inclusionary definition of caste-based discrimination and excluded certain categories from institutional protection.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the Centre and the UGC on the pleas challenging the regulation.
The new regulations mandating all higher education institutions to form "equity committees" to look into discrimination complaints and promote equity were notified on January 13.
The University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, mandated that these committees must include members of the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), persons with disabilities, and women.
The new regulations replaces the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012, which was largely advisory in nature.
The pleas assailed the regulation on the grounds that caste-based discrimination is defined strictly as discrimination against members of the SCs, STs and OBCs.
It said that by limiting the scope of "caste-based discrimination" only to SC, ST and OBC categories, the UGC has effectively denied institutional protection and grievance redressal to individuals belonging to the "general" or non-reserved categories who may also face harassment or bias based on their caste identity.
Protests were held at various places against the regulations, with student groups and organisations demanding its immediate rollback.
