The plea was presented before a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, alongside Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
NEW DELHI: On Thursday(12th Sept): The Supreme Court has stayed the NGT’s order directing the Pune police to restrict each Dhol-Tasha Zanj troupe to a maximum of 30 members during the Ganesh Visarjan procession.
The plea was presented before a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, alongside Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The Chief Justice noted the lawyer’s argument questioning the rationale behind the 30-person limit. The advocate emphasized the urgency of the matter, given the approaching ‘Ganapati visarjan.’
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated,
“The directive will impact those who play dhol and tasha during the Ganesh festival.” He further added, “In light of the tradition’s significance in the heart of Pune, we are staying the NGT’s fourth direction, allowing the troupes to continue their performances as usual.”
Advocate Amit Pai represented the petitioners in the case.
The NGT has limited the number of participants in ‘dhol-tasha’ groups for Ganapati immersion to 30 in order to mitigate noise pollution.
‘Dhol-tasha’ groups have traditionally been a significant part of festivals in Maharashtra. Ganesh Chaturthi began on September 7, with idol immersions scheduled to occur after 10-11 days.
Interestingly, this plea follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud’s residence for Ganesh Puja on Wednesday. A video from the celebration shows PM Modi praying with Chief Justice Chandrachud and his wife, Kalpana Das. The footage depicts the Chief Justice and his spouse welcoming PM Modi and participating in the puja together.
