Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Saturday allowed the use of loudspeakers during the national kho-kho championship commencing here tomorrow at Shivaji Park Grounds, which has been declared a 'silence zone'.
The 44th Senior National Kho-Kho Championship has been organised by the Maharashtra Kho-Kho Association, which had sought nod to use loudspeakers during the five-day meet.
Police had denied the association the permission to use loudspeakers because of the High Court's directive to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to declare the park area as a 'silence zone'.
However, after hearing the association's petition, a vacation bench of Justices R M Savant and Mridula Bhatkar made a "one-time" exception, as the planning for the tournament had begun in January, much before the High Court's May 5 order.
The court agreed with petitioner that since some 1,200
players and officials from different parts of the country were
going to participate, use of loudspeakers was "absolutely
essential for effective conduct of the tournament".
However, the court said noise level must not cross the
limit of 50 decibels. Also, loudspeakers should be used only
for giving instructions or making announcements and not for a
running commentary.
Loudspeakers won't be used for playing music or making
speeches, the court said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 14:23