Muslim groups oppose police action of seizing loudspeakers in mosques

MUMBAI: Muslim groups are accusing Mumbai police of excessive action against use of loudspeakers for azaan. After several mosque managements complained about notices and the forcible removal of loudspeakers, community leaders have held a series of meetings in the city.Sakinaka-based Masjid Ajmeri and Madrassa Ali Hassan Ahle Sunnat held a meeting attended by Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad and MLAs Amin Patel and Aslam Shaikh.“The cops cite the Bombay High Court order of January this year to crack down on religious places that violate the decibel limit of noise, but the police are acting selectively. They are removing loudspeakers and threatening to remove them even without verifying if the mosques are adhering to the permitted decibel level,” said Sakinaka mosque and madrassa trustee Abul Hasan Khan.The permitted decibel limit is 55 during the daytime and 45 at night. On Thursday, a delegation led by Samajwadi Party state chief and MLA Abu Asim Azmi met police commissioner Deven Bharti and complained about the alleged police harassment. They named BJP functionary and former MP Kirit Somaiya as an instigator.“Mosque trustees complain that Kirit Somaiya puts pressure on police to remove loudspeakers. While we are telling mosques to follow the decibel limit for azaan, a jobless BJP politician is trying to spoil the communal harmony in the city,” said Samajwadi Party leader Yusuf Abrahni, who was also part of the delegation that met the commissioner.

Bharti told TOI: “Police are acting as per provisions of law and will continue to act accordingly in future.”While Bombay High Court said in its judgement that the use of loudspeakers was not an essential part of religion, Muslim groups have cited observations of HCs in Gujarat and MP, which said azaan does not create noise pollution. They argue that azaan lasts for a few minutes in a day, while festivals and celebrations of other faiths are noisier and go on for days. Abrahni said he has called for a meeting of trustees of mosques after Bakr Eid to discuss and will tell them to abide by the decibel limit.

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