The wheels of the official machinery are turning too slowly, the Bombay High Court has said, finding that its firecracker ban is routinely violated at processions and that police station heads in Mumbai may not know of its orders; the Commissioner of Police must brief every station and file an affidavit.
Mumbai: Unhappy with how slowly the civic and police authorities are acting on its orders that impose a total ban on bursting firecrackers on public streets, the Bombay High Court has told the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to call together all officers in charge of police stations and to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure for dealing with violations [In Re: Noise and Environmental Pollution v. State of Maharashtra].
The order of October 21, 2026 was passed in Suo Motu Public Interest Litigation No. 1 of 2026 by a Division Bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale. The case was taken up after breaches of the Court’s earlier orders were noticed during Durga immersion processions. Advocate Anand Pai assisted the Court as amicus, along with Advocate Lavanya Panicker.
“Too slowly”
Not even the basic public notices directed on October 15 had been issued, the Bench pointed out, and it recorded:
“We find that, despite the orders passed in the present proceedings, the wheels of the official machinery appear to be turning too slowly to comply even the basic preliminary compliances as ordered by the Court.”
Do police stations know the orders?
The Court said it could not tell whether the officers in charge of police stations had ever been shown its orders. Prior permission for music systems in processions, with an undertaking to keep to decibel limits, was not being taken, and firecrackers were being burnt on crowded public streets with no check. In its words:
“There appears to be routine violations of the orders passed by this Court, particularly in relation to processions (supra) and burning of firecrackers on public streets.”
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Two earlier orders, and the rules behind them
In this suo motu PIL, and in interim applications in an older public interest litigation (PIL No. 85 of 2007), the Court has been looking at unregulated amplified sound and firecrackers during festivals. Its September 22, 2026 order banned the bursting of firecrackers during festivities and set loudspeaker controls: decibel meters at venues and processions, undertakings from organisers, and deposits that can be forfeited on breach.
The October 15, 2026 order made that ban apply all year and to every festival, and also restrained firecrackers in silence zones such as the vicinity of hospitals, Government offices, courts and schools. The Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board were to issue joint public notices, set up a complaint mechanism with dedicated telephone numbers and ward-wise email addresses, appoint nodal officers in each authority, and give decibel meters to field staff.
The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, fix permissible levels by zone and treat the areas around hospitals, educational institutions and courts as silence zones. The Bench has linked the enforcement of its directions to the rights guaranteed by Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
What the Commissioner must now do
The Commissioner of Police is to meet all officers in charge of police stations, put the Court’s orders before them and draw up an SOP on the action to be taken against violators. The officers are to be told specifically to enforce two things: the prohibition on processions using sound systems without a licence on display (ordered on September 22) and the total ban on firecrackers on public streets and roads (ordered on October 15).
An affidavit from the Commissioner must confirm that every officer in charge has been apprised of the orders and that they will be implemented in letter and spirit. The Court considered this necessary because the officers were either unaware of the orders or had not been adequately informed of them. It added:
“Any dereliction on the part of the police machinery in this regard, adversely affecting the rights of citizens guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, shall be viewed seriously in the concerned police officials to be held accountable, if appropriate action is not taken against the erring persons.”
Notices by Saturday, then October 26
Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan and Advocate Jaya Bagwe, counsel for the Pollution Control Board, told the Bench that the awareness notices were being finalised. The Court directed that they be published and put out on social media no later than Saturday, October 24, 2026. Before the next date, the Municipal Commissioner and the Police Commissioner are to file affidavits so that compliance can be verified. The matter will be heard again on October 26, 2026 at 3.00 p.m.
From the rules to the people who apply them
The earlier directions already spelt out what authorities had to do. This order records that the ban has not yet become action on the ground, and it makes the Police Commissioner answerable by affidavit for the briefing of every police station. It also says in terms that police officials may be held accountable if they fail to act against violators.
Case Title: In Re: Noise and Environmental Pollution; Public Nuisance caused by unregulated use of Music Systems with Amplifiers and Firecrackers on Public Streets During Festivals v. State of Maharashtra and Others [Suo Motu PIL No. 1 of 2026, with Interim Application (L.) No. 35677 of 2026]
Bench: Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Dr. Neela Gokhale, Bombay High Court
Date of Order: October 21, 2026
Appearances: Advocate Anand Pai with Advocate Lavanya Panicker as amicus; Advocate Rajendra Desai with Advocates Krishna Ratnaparkhi, Akshay Pawar and Vasim Siddiqui for the applicant in IAL No. 35677 of 2026; Government Pleader Anjali Helekar with Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan for the State; Advocate Jaya Bagwe for the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board; Advocate Oorja Dhond for the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai