Perform 5 times 'namaz', plant 2 trees: Court orders Muslim man convicted in road brawl

Rauf Khan was booked under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

A court in Maharashtra has ordered a convicted Muslim man to perform 'namaz' five times a day for the next 21 days and plant two saplings as conditions for his release on admonition.

The Malegaon court said that it has the power to release a convict under the Section 3 of the Probation of Offenders Act of 1958 after admonition or appropriate warning that he does not repeat the offence, Bar and Bench reported. As just a warning will not be sufficient, judge Tejwant Singh Sandhu ordered convicted Rauf Khan to do 'namaz' five times a day for 21 days and plant two saplings.

"According to me, giving appropriate warning means, to give an understanding that the crime had been committed, the accused has been proven guilty and he remembers the same so that he does not repeat the offence again," the website quoted the Court as saying."

The convict has been ordered to plant saplings in the premises of the Sonapura Masjid. The court ordered him to do 'namaz' five times a day for the next 21 days as he was not doing it as stipulated in Islam.

This is the place where he assaulted a man in 2010 in a road rage. He was booked under Khan was under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, the report said. However, he was found guilty only under Section 323.

How netizens are reacting to the verdict?

However, the verdict met with a mixed response from the netizens. "Milords slowly slowly implementing Sharia. Nice...,[sic]" a user said. Another netizen said, "Needs judges like him, [sic]"

"This is unbelievable ! Religious punishment?, [sic]" a user expressed his surprise. Registering his unhappiness, a netizen said, "What kind of punishment is this???"