Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court declined to grant permission to a mosque for the use of loudspeakers, ruling that it does not have the right to use such devices to practice religion.

The court, referring to Supreme Court rulings, stated no religion requires prayers to be conducted through voice amplification or drum beating.

A bench of Justices Anil Pansare and Raj Wakode took suo motu notice of recurring noise pollution and asked the Maharashtra government for effective measures to address the problem.

In a December 1 order, the court dismissed a petition by Masjid Gousiya in Gondia seeking loudspeaker permission for prayers, noting the petitioner failed to prove that loudspeaker use was mandatory for religious practice.

"The petitioner, therefore, is not entitled to

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