Allahabad HC nixes PIL seeking removal of loudspeakers from Mahakumbh
The court observed that the petitioners had only filed pictures of loudspeakers installed for making announcements and were placed on temporary public roads
The Allahabad high court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking removal of loudspeakers from the Mahakumbh mela on the ground that the petition “lacked data to indicate that the public address system was causing noise pollution above the permissible limits”.
“Such a laconic petition cannot be countenanced,” the court observed while dismissing the PIL petition.
The petitioners---Brahmachari Dayanand and another---approached the high court claiming that while they were campaigning in Sector 18 of the Mahakumbh, the camps around them were using loudspeakers (public address systems) and LCDs which caused noise pollution. The petitioners claimed that such noise pollution caused hindrance in their meditation.
The court observed that the petitioners had only filed pictures of loudspeakers installed for making announcements and were placed on temporary public roads.
Noting that the petitioners had not shown how the public address systems were causing noise pollution, a division bench comprising of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra observed, “The filing of the petition is based on an academic exercise undertaken based on the judgments of the Supreme Court and producing few pictures of loudspeakers. Such a laconic petition cannot be countenanced.” Accordingly, the court in its decision dated February 10 dismissed the PIL.
Another PIL petition has been filed before the Allahabad high court seeking legal action against the officials and authorities responsible for the stampede that occurred at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj on January 29.
The PIL, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, has also sought for a direction to the state to submit a comprehensive status report on the incident and to release the number of casualties in the stampede.
A PIL petition is already pending in the high court seeking constitution of a judicial monitoring committee to collect details of all those missing after the stampede.