3 weeks ago
PIL challenges Bengal government's religious place loudspeaker removal order
In West Bengal, the government said that religious places must remove their microphones and loudspeakers.
A lawyer named Danish Faruqi did not think the government could do this without a proper written rule.
So he went to a big court called the Calcutta High Court to ask for help.
Another experienced lawyer, Kalyan Banerjee, helped him file the case.
The court agreed to listen to the case, but nobody knows when the first meeting will be.
Some people think the government is picking on mosques by removing their loudspeakers.
The Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, says that is not true and the rule is for every religious place, including temples.
A different person named Abdul Samad asked the court for permission to hold a protest walk.
The protest walk would go from Rajabazar to Rani Rashmoni Road in Kolkata.
Now the judges will decide whether the loudspeaker removal can continue.
A public interest litigation was filed before a Calcutta High Court division bench seeking withdrawal of West Bengal's order removing microphones and loudspeakers from all religious places.
The PIL, filed by senior advocate and four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Kalyan Banerjee on behalf of lawyer Danish Faruqi, questions the order's legal sanction, especially for mosques.
Banerjee claimed police acted on a verbal order from Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari without any official order or memo being issued.
The division bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty, admitted the PIL; the first hearing date has not been announced.
A separate petition sought permission for a protest rally from Rajabazar to Rani Rashmoni Road, while the Chief Minister said the removal drive covers all religious places, including temples, not just mosques.
- Who
- Lawyer Danish Faruqi (represented by senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee), the Calcutta High Court, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, and the West Bengal government.
- What
- A PIL seeking withdrawal of the state government's order to remove microphones and loudspeakers from all religious places; the division bench admitted the PIL.
- Where
- Calcutta High Court in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- When
- Monday, the day the PIL was filed and admitted.
- Why
- The petitioner questioned the legal sanction behind the order, especially its application to mosques, while opposition parties alleged mosques were being specially targeted.
Petitioners and Opposition
State Government
Special targeting of mosques
Petitioners and Opposition
Opposition parties accused the state government of specially targeting mosques in the drive to remove microphones and loudspeakers.
State Government
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari clarified that the action is not limited to mosques and applies to all religious places, including temples.
Legal basis of enforcement
Petitioners and Opposition
Kalyan Banerjee claimed police removed microphones and loudspeakers from mosques on a verbal order from the Chief Minister, without an official order or memo being issued.
State Government
The state government issued an order covering all religious places, and maintains the action is not directed at mosques alone.
Key facts
- Petitioner
- Danish Faruqi, a lawyer
- Filed by
- Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, a four-time Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member
- Court
- Division bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty
- Subject
- Removal of microphones and loudspeakers from all religious places in West Bengal
- Status
- PIL admitted; first hearing date yet to be announced
- Protest rally
- Separate petition by Abdul Samad for a rally from Rajabazar to Rani Rashmoni Road
- Government's position
- Action is not limited to mosques and covers all religious places, including temples
- Allegation
- Police acted on a verbal order from the Chief Minister without an official order or memo
Quotes
Kalyan Banerjee
Four‑time Trinamool Congress MP and senior advocate
“This has become a new trend in West Bengal in the new regime. The Chief Minister says something and the police implement the order without an official order or memo being issued”
thehansindia.com











