Mosques challenge removal of Azaan loudspeakers, Bombay High Court seeks State response

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Maharashtra government, Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on a petition filed by five mosques challenging the removal of loudspeakers meant for Azaan (call to prayer) and the termination of their licenses [Anjuman Ittehad o TaraqquI Madinah Masjid & Ors v. State of Maharashtra & Ors].The petition filed by Anjuman Ittehad O Taraqqui Madinah Jama Masjid and others, who manage several Masjids, Dargahs and religious places across Mumbai, alleged that the police action was arbitrary and amounted to selective targeting of Muslim institutions.A Bench of Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice MM Sathye issued notice to the State, police and others and directed them to file their replies by July 9..The petitioners moved the Court alleging that the arbitrary and unconstitutional police actions began in April this year.According to the petition, notices citing violation were issued to various Muslim places of worship without any particulars of the alleged violation of the NPR (Noise Pollution Rules) 2000. As per the petitioners, these notices failed to mention “date and time of the alleged violations and the measurement of decibels at the time of the alleged violations.The petitioners also cited replies to RTI queries that revealed the police “have no such data available” regarding noise-measuring instruments or training schemes, asserting that the enforcement was not based on data but rather on arbitrary discretion“The whole movement is targeting Muslim community and is the instance of hostile discrimination,” the petitioners submitted. It was further alleged that the police department was acting at the behest of vested political interests..The petitioners also argued that the state’s enforcement actions including “imposing arbitrary fines, terminating subsisting licenses, refusing to renew the licenses and forcefully seizing the loudspeakers violate the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, and 26 of the Constitution. “It is the fundamental right of every person to carry on their religious beliefs and practices within the parameters of the sound decibels laid down under NPR, 2000," it was contended. The petitioners also took objection to the circular dated April 11 issued by the State which demanded ownership documents and land titles for religious premises as a precondition for loudspeaker licensing. The petition describes this as “fishing inquiries not related to the germane issue of preventing noise pollution.”.On the spiritual necessity of the loudspeaker for the call to prayer (Azaan), the petitioners submitted that Azaan “is positioned among the mandatory practices of Islamic ritual and this vital spiritual purpose cannot be served without the means of an amplifier/loudspeaker.” It added that the Azaan is given between 6.00 am to 10.00 pm, each Azaan lasting for barely 2 to 3 minutes, and that such brief calls cannot remotely produce noise amounting to pollution or actionable nuisance..The present proceedings come in the backdrop of a Bombay High Court order of January 2025, which had directed the police to act against all religious structures violating noise pollution norms..Senior Advocate Yusuf Moochala and advocate Mubin Solkar appeared for the petitioners.