Plea to ban loudspeakers: HC seeks to know govt measures
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today sought to know from the AAP government and the police measures they have taken on a plea seeking a ban on loudspeakers atop religious structures in the national capital.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar also directed the Delhi Police to place before it the standing order, that they have claimed to have issued, with regard to usage of loudspeaker at religious places.
It further directed the state government and the police to positively file an affidavit before it on the next date of hearing, April 18, explaining steps they have taken to publicise the order.
The bench further said publicity is important as people have to know norms and consequences in case of violation.
The court was
hearing a PIL, filed by an activist Sanjiv Kumaar, which said banning of loudspeakers will not violate Article 25 or 26 (Articles on Freedom of Religion) of the Constitution.
The plea said loudspeakers were never part of any religion as the instrument came into existence only in 1924.
He also claimed in his plea that loudspeakers were never part of any religion whether Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism or Zoroastrianism.
The petition also said the use of loudspeakers takes away the right of the citizens to speak with others, their right to read or think or the right to sleep.
The plea has sought directions to the authorities to remove loudspeakers atop any religious structures, saying they violated citizens' rights including those of minors and elderly people.
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Ajit Pawar wins Baramati battle, defeats nephew Yugendra by more than 1 lakh votes
Baramati, Nov 23: Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar on Saturday won from his traditional Baramati assembly constituency by defeating his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar by more than one lakh votes.
Ajit, who parted ways with his uncle Sharad Pawar last year and was seeking an eighth term from this family bastion in Pune district, polled 1,81,132 votes while Yugendra Pawar polled 80,233 votes.
Ajit, thus, defeated his younger brother's son by 1,00,899 votes.
Five months ago, Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) had triumphed in Baramati in the Lok Sabha elections, with incumbent MP and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule defeating Ajit Pawar's wife Sunetra by a margin of 1.5 lakh votes.
Both the NCP factions did not leave a single stone unturned during the assembly campaign, and even Sharad Pawar's wife Pratibha Pawar and Sule's daughter Revati were seen campaigning for Yugendra, while Ajit Pawar brought his mother on stage during his concluding rally in Baramati.
While Sharad Pawar told the people of Baramati that they needed a new leadership, alluding to Yugendra Pawar whom he described as a highly-educated candidate, Ajit Pawar cautioned people not to fall prey to the "emotional pitch" by the senior Pawar.
After Saturday's results, Ajit Pawar, who along with several other NCP legislators sided with the BJP-Shiv Sena government in 2023, could claim to be the real political heir of his estranged uncle who founded the NCP in 1999.
Sunetra Pawar, now a Rajya Sabha member, thanked the people of Baramati for reposing their faith once again in `Dada' (elder brother in Marathi, as Ajit is fondly called).
