The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that claimed West Bengal police were instructing mosque authorities to remove loudspeakers used for the azan, the Islamic call to prayer. The court’s decision came on Tuesday, addressing the allegations that such verbal directives were being issued by law enforcement officials.
The division bench of acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee heard advocate Md Danish Farooqui’s petition alleging that police officers held meetings with mosque representatives in recent weeks and directed them to remove all loudspeakers although Supreme Court guidelines exist on decibel limits for loudspeakers used in public places. The state’s lawyers questioned the maintainability of the PIL saying the allegations were vague and lacked documentary evidence showing that any government official violated statutory rules. “A PIL is not adversarial litigation.
Is it like a civil or criminal trial where 100% evidence needs to be given?
“The state’s lawyers told the court that the allegation was baseless because the police neither held any meeting with mosque representatives nor gave any verbal instruction to remove loudspeakers,” a lawyer who attended the hearing said. They also told the court that the petitioner referred to information from imams and mosque representatives but none of the affected people had approached the court. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee said meetings did take place between the police and mosque committees. Banerjee said.
