Petition filed against Sunburn event in HC

Mumbai: A petition has been filed in the Bombay high court against the Sunburn Festival. The petitioner, Amol Balwadkar, said that the organisers should abide by environmental and noise pollution norms.

Mr Balwadkar, a Pune resident, has said that the Supreme Court has put restrictions on bursting firecrackers and playing loudspeakers during festivals, so why are events like Sunburn allowed to play loud music after midnight.

According to the petitioner, spectators older than 15 years are allowed to enter the premises but asked how organisers bar would children from consuming liquor. He also stated that the organisers violate noise pollution rules with the help of government officers.

The petition also stated that organisers didn’t take permission from the gram panchayat where this concert will be held.

Advocate Anurag Jain, who represented the petitioner, argued that common people have to abide by noise pollution norms during every festival hence the Sunburn organisers would have to abide by the same law.

The counsel of Percept India Limited, the company which organises Sunburn, argued before the court that every year from December 29 to December 31 the festival is organised at Pune. This year, Oxford Golf Course of Bavdhan Lavale area has been selected for the programme. Every year, organisers get 19 licenses from the government and pay lakhs of rupees as entertainment taxes. Before the programme, all the permissions are taken but every time, someone approaches the court to oppose it.

After hearing both sides, the vacation bench presided over by Justice Bharti Dangre said, “Even if the programme won’t be held in a silence zone area, the organisers have to take care of noise pollution rules and environmental laws.” The court also inquired about the distance between the residential area and the programme venue.

The court has posted the petition for further hearing on Friday.