Now Reading: Calcutta HC asks Bengal on mosque loudspeaker removal action
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Calcutta HC asks Bengal on mosque loudspeaker removal action
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government whether it has taken any action to remove loudspeakers from mosques. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and…
The Story in Brief
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government whether it has taken any action to remove loudspeakers from mosques. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee posed the question during a PIL challenging alleged police instructions to religious establishments to remove loudspeakers.
The PIL, filed by lawyer Danish Farooqui, claims police in Hooghly and other districts gave blanket verbal directions without written orders or decibel measurements. Senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay said loudspeakers were removed from about 4,000 mosques. The state's advocate general opposed the petition, saying no imam has come forward. The matter will be heard again on August 18.
The Indian Opinion
The Calcutta High Court has rightly asked for facts before acting. The petitioner claims mass removal without notices, but the state counters that no mosque authority has complained. Both sides have points: loudspeaker noise is a real concern for residents, but targeting only mosques without due process would be discriminatory. The real test will be whether the state can produce written records of any action, and whether the petitioner can name a single mosque that was forced to remove loudspeakers. Until then, this remains a clash of assertions.
Sources (2): barandbench.com, thefederal.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
