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Journalism of Courage
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday reserved its order on a petition challenging the ban on DJs across the state. Last week, a division bench of Justice S S Khemkar and Justice S V Kotwal had declined interim relief on use of DJ and Dolby sound systems during Ganesh immersion processions.The petition has been filed by Professional Audio and Lighting Association, owners of sound and light rental companies, seeking to declare that there is no prohibition/ban on use of sound system/DJ system in Maharashtra. The petitioners are also seeking guidelines and regulations, within the ambit of which the use of sound systems shall be permissible.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni sought time to file an affidavit. He told the court that he needs three days to collect data across the state. Meanwhile, Kumbhakoni told the court that if DJ is allowed to play it will cause noise pollution beyond permissible levels. He told the court that DJ is technically a sound enhancing machine, once it is turned on it will cross 100 decibels. “Seventy-five per cent of noise pollution in 2017-18 is because of DJ,” Kumbhakoni told the court.
Kumbhakoni said the petition is completely silent on the decibels levels. “If the court allows this petition we will walk out of the court,” Kumbhakoni said, adding that if the petition is allowed, then “we are allowing them to breach the law”.
Advocate S S Talekar told the court that 27,000 people were part of this industry and their livelihood depends on this business. If there is any breach, police can take action against them but why ban it, Talekar said, adding that Kumbhakoni’s claim that DJ increases the noise level is completely absurd.
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