Prayagraj, March 15 -- The Allahabad High Court has said that the Sambhal collector and superintendent of police (SP) should either resign or seek transfer if they feel they are not competent enough to enforce the law, after authorities cited law and order concerns to limit the number of people offering prayers at a mosque in the district. A division bench of justices Atul Sreedharan and Siddharth Nandan underlined that it is the duty of the State to ensure that every community can worship peacefully in their designated places of worship. The bench also said that worshippers do not need the State's permission to pray on private property. "This court has already settled that it is only where prayers or religious functions have to be held on public land or spill over the public property that the involvement of the state is essential, and permission must be sought," the bench said in a February 27 order, but published online recently. The bench made the remarks on a plea moved by Sambhal resident Munazir Khan, who said that he was prevented from conducting prayers during Ramzan at the mosque. The state has disputed the ownership of the place where the mosque is said to be situated. The state also said that permission was granted only for 20 worshippers to offer namaz on account of "perceived law and order situation". The bench, in its order, rejected the state's contention. "If the local authorities i.e. SP and Collector feels that the law and order situation could arise because of which they want to limit the number of worshippers within the premises, they should either resign from their post or seek transfer outside Sambhal if they feel they are not competent enough to enforce the rule of law," the court said.htc...