The Maharashtra Kho-kho Association has moved Bombay high court challenging the Mumbai police commissioner’s order which denied them permission to use loudspeakers for the upcoming National Kho-kho Championship.
Affiliated to Maharashtra Olympic Association and Kho-kho Federation of India, the association is hosting the 44th senior national championship between May 16 and May 20 at Shivaji Park.
Permission to use loudspeakers has been denied following an order passed by the high court on May 6 directing the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to notify Shivaji Park as a silence zone. The court passed the order hearing a petition filed by Wecom Trust and two residents of Shivaji Park.
According to an urgent application filed by the association, the tournament is to be held between 7am and 10am and 4pm and 10.30pm.
The association has moved the vacation court seeking quashing of the order and urged it to allow them to use loudspeakers in accordance with law.
On Friday, a division bench of justice M Sawant and justice Mridula Bhatkar directed the petitioners to add BMC and the Wecom trust as respondents. The petition will come up for hearing on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the court also directed the state government to file an affidavit and clear their stand on declaring Shivaji Park as a silence zone.
The directives came following a petition that sought relaxation of the court order for two days for the centenary celebration of the concert ‘Legendary escape of Veer Savarkar from the Andaman jail’.
The government has been directed to file an affidavit by May 17.
