The Bombay high court on Tuesday reserved its order till Friday on the public interest litigation seeking removal of illegal loudspeakers used by on religious structures.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Navi Mumbai resident Santosh Pachalag, which raised the issue of “illegal use of loudspeakers” by mosques in Navi Mumbai.
It claimed that, according to data obtained recently under the Right to Information Act, 45 of the 49 mosques (around 92%) in the area do not have permission to use loudspeakers.
The public interest litigation added that the mosques are located in silence zones, which house schools and hospitals.
The PIL added that their loudspeakers surpass the decibel levels allowed under the Noise Pollution (Control and Regulations) Rules 2000.
Though initially the PIL was filed seeking action against unauthorised loudspeakers at mosques the division bench headed by Justice V.M. Kanade had extended the scope of the PIL to all the religious bodies.
The bench had said that unauthorised loudspeakers must be confiscated irrespective of whether they were installed for “Ganeshotsav, Navratri or in mosques... irrespective of religion, caste or community.”
One Mohammed Ali of Bandra has also filed an intervention application in support of the usage of loudspeakers in religious structures matter.
Mr Ali had contended that he is not against Islam or its practice but all Muslims know when they are supposed to offer namaz and hence it is not necessary to use loudspeakers.
After hearing arguments on Tuesday, the bench asked the government and petitioners to file their draft arguments in the court before Friday when court is expected to pass an order on the public interest litigation.
