A division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice Prakash Naik said: "This, in our view, is prima facie a breach of order — during the function on April 8, there was an alarming rise in decibel levels and the breach was deliberate."
The Bombay High Court has issued a show-cause notice under the Contempt of Court Act against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Nitin Sardesai for organising the party's Gudi Padwa rally, during which noise decibel levels were beyond the permissible limits and thereby in violation of court orders.
A division bench of justice Abhay Oka and justice Prakash Naik said: "This, in our view, is prima facie a breach of order — during the function on April 8, there was an alarming rise in decibel levels and the breach was deliberate."
The high court had on April 6 refused to interfere with the decision of the city police and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to allow the Raj Thackeray-led MNS to use loudspeakers for its rally on the occasion of Gudi Padwa at Shivaji Park, a silence zone. However, the court had, at the same time, cautioned the MNS to adhere to noise pollution rules and asked the state government to take action if the organisers of the rally violated the provisions of the law.
The state government, on Friday, submitted a report that there was a violation of decibel levels and added that notices have been issued to the organisers. The order allowing the rally was given while hearing a notice of motion in a petition filed by residents of the area, led by Ashok Ravat of Wecom Trust, against the use of loudspeakers at Shivaji Park in Dadar.
The notice of motion had challenged only the use of loudspeakers and had not questioned the decision of the authorities to grant permission for the rally. The court has posted the date of hearing of the petition as June 24, which is when Sardesai is likely to file his reply to the notice.
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