3 min readKolkataAug 10, 2026 05:18 PM IST
First published on: Aug 10, 2026 at 03:58 PM IST
The Calcutta High Court on Monday allowed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the removal of loudspeakers from mosques across West Bengal.
The PIL was mentioned before a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee.
TMC MP and Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee informed the high court, “Through oral instructions, all loudspeakers have been removed from all the mosques in West Bengal.”
Speaking to the media on the issue, Banerjee said, “Today, we filed one PIL by Danish Farooqui, an advocate of the Calcutta High Court, challenging the illegal, oral direction of the state to remove loudspeakers from nearly 4,000 mosques in West Bengal.”
“Earlier, a Calcutta High Court division bench presided over by Justice Bhagabati Prasad Banerjee observed that loudspeakers can be used within noise decibel limits at the time of Azaan. Through threats, they (the Suvendu Adhikari government) implement all policies… Therefore, we have filed a PIL and prayed that these loudspeakers be allowed to be used at the time of Azaan within the prescribed sound limit as directed by the high court earlier. The matter will come up for hearing on Thursday,” he added.
Meanwhile, a single bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya permitted a protest rally, scheduled for Tuesday in Kolkata from Rajabazar to Moulali, concerning the removal of loudspeakers at religious places.
One Abdul Samad had approached the high court seeking permission for the rally.
The court noted that the rally should be held between 11.30 am and 1 pm and should not have more than 750 participants.
Police crackdown
Controversy erupted after loudspeakers were removed from places of worship across Bengal earlier this month as part of a police crackdown against noise pollution.
Several mosque committees alleged that they received only verbal instructions from local police stations regarding the removal of loudspeakers.
Last week, three rebel TMC MPs – former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Khalilur Rahaman and Abu Taher Khan – met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and submitted a memorandum over the matter. The MPs had expressed concern over the protection of religious freedom and urged the Centre to ensure that noise pollution norms are enforced without hurting religious sentiments.
Khan and Rehman also met Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday to highlight the removal of loudspeakers from mosques and ‘delays’ in hearing cases before SIR tribunals.
Earlier, CM Adhikari had defended the removal of loudspeakers and said the state government was only implementing court orders.
He stated that the sound from mosques and temples must remain within their respective premises and should not travel beyond the compound.
The chief minister added that a total of 5,299 loudspeakers had been uninstalled from mosques and temples. Of these, around 4,203 were removed from mosques and 1,096 from temples.
He stated that the police had been instructed not to act forcefully and claimed mosque committees cooperated voluntarily with the administration.
The PIL challenging removal of loudspeakers from mosques in Bengal is likely to be heard on Thursday. (File Photo)
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