HC holds ex-Maha ACS guilty of contempt, asks him to appear on

The Bombay High Court today came down heavily on the Maharashtra government saying it took the court "for a ride" on the issue of procuring of decibel meters to measure noise levels and held former Additional Chief Secretary (Home) K P Bakshi guilty of contempt.

It directed him to appear before it on December 23 when the court would pronounce the quantum of sentence.

A division bench headed by Justice A S Oka held that the state government had failed to procure decibel meters to measure noise levels by November despite repeated assurances given to the court by Bakshi in affidavits.
 

In May, the court had issued contempt notice against Bakshi for "wilful and deliberate" breach of court orders relating to procurement of 1,843 decibel meters.

The decibel meters were to be procured by the government and supplied to all police stations in the state so as to enable the police to measure noise decibel levels during festivals, processions and other events to ensure compliance of noise pollution rules and regulations.

Earlier, the government had assured the court that the meters would be procured by March. Later, Bakshi in his affidavit, had claimed the company which was to supply the meters failed to do so. He submitted that a fresh schedule plan was made by which the meters would be procured by November end.

However, today the court learnt that even work orders were not placed till date to procure the decibel meters.

"The court is being taken for a ride by the government. We kept relying on the affidavits filed. This is a very callous approach. We will now have to sentence him (Bakshi). Ask him to appear before us on December 23 and make submissions. We will then pass an order on his sentence," Justice Oka said.

The court was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations on the issue of violation of noise pollution rules during religious festivals and processions and inaction on the part of government and other authorities.