Calcutta HC rejects PIL on removal of loudspeakers from mosques

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that alleged the West Bengal police were verbally instructing mosque authorities to remove loudspeakers used for the azan (call to prayer). The division bench, consisting of acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Atarup Banerjee, heard advocate Md Danish Farooqui's petition.

According to a lawyer present at the hearing, the state's lawyers argued that the allegation was baseless, as the police neither held any meetings with mosque representatives nor gave any verbal instructions to remove the loudspeakers. The state's lawyers also questioned the maintainability of the PIL, citing a lack of documentary evidence and the absence of affected individuals approaching the court.

Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the petitioner, acknowledged that meetings occurred between the police and mosque committees, but questioned whether a PIL requires absolute evidence, similar to a civil or criminal trial.