Aug ‘16 order on silence zones to prevail, says HC
GOVT RED-FACED Court order came a day after the administration’s declaration of no such areas in city
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday cleared the air over the “silence zones” issue and said its August 2016 ruling would continue to operate for the upcoming Ganpati festival. This comes after the government submitted that there are no “silence zones” in the city.
Wednesday’s HC observation means that no loudspeakers or equipment for loud noise would be allowed in the silence zones during the celebrations this year.
This stand of the HC has left the Maharashtra government red-faced, as it had made an attempt to annul the court’s August 2016 ruling on silence zones. The government had amended the Noise Pollution Rules, 2000 that contemplated that no area can be considered as a silence zone unless notified by the state.
A day after declaring that there are no silence zones in the state, Advocate General (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhkoni on Wednesday told the court that the August 2016 judgement is not being considered by the government.
“As of now, the judgment of this court is not being considered by the government as it is not in force from the moment the amendments were introduced. The government’s stand is that this court’s orders are not operational now,” he said.
Kumbhkoni further informed the Division Bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla that the government is mulling to file a plea seeking review of the August 2016 judgment.
Having heard the submissions, Justice Oka said, “We just cannot accept the stand of the government that this court’s orders are not operational. Unless you do not seek a review or modification of our judgment, our orders stand as it is.”
“You have no other option but to implement this court’s orders for the upcoming festival,” Justice Oka said.
During the course of hearing, Kumbhkoni also argued that the HC should allow the government to exercise its powers and identify silence zones afresh. He also argued that if the government considers HC’s ruling, than the entire city will come under silence zones, since each lane has a school, hospital, religious place and courts.
Irked by the submission, Justice Oka said, “Since you have not notified a single area yet, this means permission can be granted to use loudspeakers near hospitals too. You cannot allow use of loudspeakers everywhere and let the citizens suffer. We fail to understand why are you in so hurry to permit the use of loudspeakers.”
Having no answer to the observation, AG Kumbhkoni sought a day’s time to file a plea for review of the HC’s earlier ruling. The matter would be heard on Thursday.