No Law Prohibits Grant Of Temporary Permission To Ganesh Mandals For Erecting Pandals: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has dismissed an application that challenged the decision of State authorities to grant temporary permission for erecting Ganesh pandals in an open area of land in Andheri, Mumbai. 

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar noted that the land has been allocated temporarily for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival and that the pandals will be removed after the festival is over.

The Court stated that the petitioner failed to show any law which does not permit granting temporary approval for setting up Ganesh pandals.

“…we may observe that the said prayer also cannot be granted for the reason that learned counsel for the petitioner has utterly failed to bring to our notice any law which forbids grant of temporary permission to any Ganesh Mandal for erecting temporary pandal, which, after the festival is over, is vacated and the land is handed over to the State authorities” the Court said. 

The petitioner challenged the decision to grant approval for the erection of Ganesh pandals in an interim application of a PIL petition. The PIL petition was filed alleging encroachment of a builder in the open area of land.

The petitioner argued that the open area of land was used for recreational purposes by the people residing nearby.

With respect to the PIL, the Court noted that the Collector of Land Revenue had inquired into the matter as per directions of the Court and had passed an order.  

It stated that as the order of the Collector has not been challenged by any party, the cause of action in the present PIL does not survive. 

The Court thus dismissed the petition along with the interim application. 

It however noted that it The petitioner and other residents of the area were at liberty to take any available legal recourse with respect to the non-availability of any open area for recreational purposes. 

Case title: Manish Ramniklal Sawla vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors (PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. 114 OF 2012 WITH NOTICE OF MOTION NO. 207 OF 2013 AND INTERIM APPLICATION (L) NO. 17821 OF 2024) 

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