Rules on religious loudspeakers must apply equally to temples and mosques, says AJUP leader Humayun Kabir

Aam Janata Unnayan Party leader Humayun Kabir has insisted that statutory limits on sound systems in West Bengal must be enforced without bias across all places of worship.

Speaking to reporters following reports that police had removed equipment from both mosques and temples across the state, Kabir stressed that whilst sound restrictions established by environmental authorities and the Supreme Court must be respected, police action must strictly align with official regulatory guidelines rather than arbitrary enforcement. He noted that sound pollution regulations set a maximum volume limit of 65 decibels, arguing that any official directive must be applied uniformly so that neither mosques nor temples are unfairly singled out or exempted.

The political fallout follows widespread public debate and legal challenges over the state administration's crackdown on public address systems at religious venues. Senior advocate and Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Kalyan Banerjee has filed a public interest litigation before the Calcutta High Court seeking to challenge the legal basis of the government order and halt the systematic removal of equipment.

Meanwhile, the high court granted conditional approval for a public demonstration against the state policy, amidst accusations from opposition politicians that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government was disproportionately targeting Islamic sites. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has rejected those allegations, maintaining that the police operation applies universally across all faiths.

(Inputs from IANS)