Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to re-upload the Deepavali video featuring actor Dia Mirza that the civic body had taken down a day earlier. A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale took suo motu note of the controversy.
The court said it was "deeply pained" and expressed its "displeasure" at the turn the row had taken. "What happened yesterday is the most unfortunate, to say the least. Such a knee-jerk reaction was unwarranted," the bench said. "Why is a different colour being given to all this unnecessarily?"
The video, part of the BMC's campaign urging Mumbaikars not to burst firecrackers, was removed after Satam objected to Mirza's inclusion. Mayor Ritu Tawde called the actor "anti-Hindu". Videos featuring Madhuri Dixit, Nishigandha Wad and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane stayed up.
Satam had posted on X: "We don't need lessons on how to celebrate Diwali... Our traditions are deeply rooted in our culture."
The court said there has to be a secular spirit, and that the Constitution expects citizens to keep it alive. "If the clip was taken off, then it would be ideal that the same should be re-uploaded," it said. "We are a secular country. We are really hurt by this. The issue pertains to the environment and every person, irrespective of their religion and caste, is breathing the same air."
The bench also said its orders on firecrackers were not about one festival. "Firecrackers are burst at all times, like during marriages, processions, election victories and after cricket matches. Our order concerns all 365 days." It said the BMC commissioner was "absolutely correct" in choosing celebrities for the campaign.
In Pune, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the matter had not even come before the court as a case. "This is a very small issue... The authority that manages the social media handle has the right to decide what content should be retained and what should be removed," he said. "Dia Mirza may be a good actress, but she is not a very big leader of India. Therefore, I feel this is not an issue of my level."
Mirza had earlier questioned the criticism of a video she said she recorded in the public interest at the court's and the BMC's instance.