The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea against a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order restricting the number of persons to 30 who can be part of a 'dhol-tasha' group involved in an idol immersion of Lord Ganesh.
The plea was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra today.
The CJI took note of the submissions of a lawyer who asked how could the number of people be restricted to just 30.
He told the court that the NGT order said a 'dhol-tasha' group can have only 30 people. The advocate urged the court to hear the plea urgently as the 'Ganapati visarjan' is coming up soon.
CJI Chandrachud then told the lawyer to send an email and the papers, and the court shall look into the matter at 2 PM.
The NGT has restricted the number of people in the dhol-tasha (musical group) for Ganapati immersion to 30 to control noise pollution.
Traditionally, 'Dhol-tasha' groups have been an integral part of traditional festivals in some parts of Maharashtra. The festival of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' started on September 7 and the idol immersion takes place after 10-11 days.
Incidently, the plea comes just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attended Ganesh Puja at Chief Justice DY Chandrachud’s residence in New Delhi.
A video of the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration at Chandrachud’s residence shows PM Modi offering prayers to the deity along with the Chief Justice and his spouse Kalpana Das.
The video shows CJI Chandrachud and his wife Kalpana Das welcoming PM Modi at their house. PM Modi is then seen participating in the puja at their residence.