Bombay high court allows Shiv Sena to whisper at Shivaji Park rally

The Shiv Sena's tiger all set to roar at the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park may have to mew this year.

Permitting the Sena to hold their traditional rally at the park, a declared silence zone, the Bombay high court on Monday made it clear that the rally can take place only if the Shiv Sena follows the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.

The permissible noise level in a silence zone, according to the rules, is 50 decibels. A whisper in a quiet library is measured at 30 decibel and a normal conversation inside a silent room is between 60 decibel and 70 decibel.

The Sena will have to rack its brains to find a way of
addressing several thousand people, who are likely to attend the rally on October 17, without exceeding the 50-decibel limit.

Shiv Sena's Anil Parab had moved the high court seeking permission to hold the rally at the park.

Their counsel VA Thorat told the court that the party had been holding the rally at Shivaji Park on Dussehra for more than 40 years and they wanted to hold the rally for only five hours.

Though the court had earlier ordered the park to be earmarked as a silence zone, Thorat said the government had not issued a notification declaring it. So, the park cannot be considered a
silence zone, he said.

The advocate for Wecom Trust, the original petitioners in the public interest litigation in which the court ordered the park to be declared a silence zone, cited the 2003 case of Rang Bhavan in which the Supreme Court had held that a government notification was not necessary if a court had labelled the place a silence zone.

The BMC had earlier told the court that it did not object to the Sena's rally. Their counsel KK Singhvi said, “People have a right to assemble and express their views. Which are the places in Mumbai where one can hold a meeting?”

If the public meeting is not allowed, Singhvi said, the right of the people would be confined to the constitution of India. “In Sonia Gandhi’s meeting you won't have loudspeakers?" he asked. Government pleader DA Nalavade too said that there was a shortfall of open spaces.

Wecom's advovate, however, told the court that the larger public interest was in ensuring that residents near the park were not deprived of their peace. She said that the party should seek separate permission from the corporation to set up a stage at the venue.

"If we grant the use of loudspeakers how will you ensure the decibel limit in a silence zone?" the court asked.

Thorat assured the court that the rules of a silence zone would be followed.

“We are happy that the court has given us permission to hold the rally. And we will respect the court's order in any case," Sanjay Raut, MP and Sena spokesperson, said.

"The Dussehra rally will go ahead smoothly with the same enthusiasm and celebrative mood,” Raut said.

Anti-noise activist Sumaira Abdulali, however, said, “The area has been declared a silence zone.

“No loudspeakers should be allowed at Shivaji Park. We will surely monitor the rally. But ultimately everyone has to respect the court's order."

According to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the party cannot use loudspeakers if it wants to follow the decibel limit. “The ambient sound limit is between 20 decibel and 30 decibel,” Mohan Jagade, HOD of the ENT department at JJ hospital, said.

“If one is put through a constant noise of 40 decibel to 50 decibel, it can lead to deafness for a certain period of time. And in any political rally the noise level is always above 50 decibel.”