“Everyone is breathing the same air, be it anyone,” the Bombay High Court has observed while ordering the BMC to restore the Dia Mirza Firecracker Video, an anti-firecracker clip taken down after political objections. The Bench said the actor “acted as per the directions of the court” and reminded politicians who objected that India is a secular country.
Mumbai: An awareness video in which actor Dia Mirza urged citizens not to burst firecrackers on public streets must go back on the social media handle of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Bombay High Court directed on Tuesday, after the clip was taken down following objections by some political leaders [Suo Motu PIL on Festive Noise and Air Pollution].
A Division Bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale made the oral remarks and passed the direction on November 3, 2026, while hearing its suo motu public interest litigation on festive noise and air pollution in Mumbai.
“Purely an environment issue”
Justice Gokhale said the matter was purely an environmental one and should not be given any other colour. The Bench observed:
“Everyone is breathing the same air, be it anyone.”
It then directed the BMC to restore the deleted video on its social media handle.
“She acted as per the directions of the court”
Justice Kulkarni said the remarks had been made without taking note of the Court’s earlier order, which allowed everyone to participate in the awareness drive. The Bench said it was disturbed by the comments and reminded those who made them of the constitutional position:
“…disturbed by the stray comments made by some politicians… India is a Secular country.”
The judges added that the actor “acted as per the directions of the court”, that the approach adopted by some corporators and politicians was not correct, and that the issue should not be given “any other angle”. The Bench also asked how anyone could object to a person’s participation merely because that person belonged to another religion.
Why the clip came down
Mirza made the video at the BMC’s request to spread awareness about the High Court’s directions against bursting firecrackers on public streets, lanes and footpaths. The Court had earlier permitted everyone to take part in such awareness initiatives.
The clip was later removed from the civic body’s handle after objections from some leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who described the actor as “anti-Hindu”. The leaders were not parties before the Court, and no submissions on their behalf were recorded at the hearing.
The wider proceedings
The suo motu case has seen a series of directions this festive season. The Bench has extended its ban on bursting firecrackers on public streets to all festivals through the year, asked the police to frame a standard operating procedure for enforcement, and said that public money should not be spent on celebrities for anti-firecracker campaigns, with the Police Commissioner instead inviting them to take part voluntarily.
ALSO READ: Bombay High Court Extends Firecracker Ban On Streets To All Festivals Throughout The Year
Why the order matters
The direction protects the integrity of a public awareness campaign that exists because of the Court’s own orders. When a civic body runs a drive under judicial directions, the Bench made clear, the participants are carrying out those directions, and their religion or identity is irrelevant to whether they may take part.
The remarks also keep the litigation anchored to its subject. Noise and air pollution during festivals is a public health and environmental question under Article 21, and the Bench signalled that it will not allow enforcement of its directions to be diverted into a communal or political dispute, whichever side raises it.
Case Title: Suo Motu Public Interest Litigation on Festive Noise and Air Pollution in Mumbai
Bench: Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale, Bombay High Court
Date of Hearing: November 3, 2026