Mumbai — The Bombay High Court expressed deep pain and displeasure on Tuesday over the political controversy surrounding actor Dia Mirza's video for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's eco-friendly, firecracker-free Deepavali campaign, directing the civic body to re-upload the clip.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale took suo motu note of the issue, stating they were anguished by the petty mindset of certain individuals, particularly public representatives. The court deemed it most unfortunate that communal tones were assigned to an awareness video intended to address air and noise pollution, adding that no one has the right to question why authorities chose a specific celebrity.
Ms. Mirza's video for the civic body's environmental campaign sparked a political row after the municipal corporation selectively removed her clip from social media following objections raised by Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam and remarks from Mayor Ritu Tawde labelling her as anti-Hindu. While her clip was taken down, other campaign videos featuring actors Madhuri Dixit, Nishigandha Wad, and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane remained active on the civic body's social media pages.
The high court stated that the BMC commissioner was entirely correct in selecting celebrities to spread awareness and described the handling of other unnecessary issues as unfortunate. The bench directed the administration to restore the deleted footage, cautioning objectors that the community must respect every person irrespective of religion, caste, or creed.
Emphasizing the secular spirit expected by the Constitution, the bench noted that Mumbai survives on togetherness and a strong sense of belonging, which should not be disrupted by loose commentary. The judges pointed out that politicians who made remarks had not contributed awareness videos of their own, stressing that everyone breathes the same air regardless of background.
The court observed that the civic body should not have yielded to the controversy by deleting the footage and criticized the unwarranted, knee-jerk reaction. It reminded authorities that the campaign stemmed from court orders prohibiting the bursting of firecrackers on public roads throughout the year to control pollution, noting that restrictions apply to all festivities and celebrations year-round.
Concluding its observations, the bench reiterated that environmental protection remains the paramount consideration and urged society to foster goodwill and community spirit rather than reprimand individuals willing to champion environmental causes.