The Bombay High Court has reportedly directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to re-upload an environmental-awareness video featuring actor and environmental campaigner Dia Mirza, after the civic body removed it from its social media accounts. The video urged residents not to burst firecrackers on public roads and promoted a pollution-free Diwali. The account requires verification because Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also quoted as saying that the matter had not reached the High Court.
According to the report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai, the video was part of a BMC campaign addressing rising air and noise pollution during Diwali. Mirza’s message focused on avoiding firecrackers on public roads and reducing pollution during the festival. Videos featuring actor Madhuri Dixit and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane reportedly remained available on the civic body’s social media platforms.
The dispute escalated after Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam and mayor Ritu Tawde objected to Mirza’s video. Tawde was quoted as saying that Hindus did not need to be taught how to celebrate Diwali and described the campaign as an agenda against Hindutva. Following the political objections, the BMC reportedly removed Mirza’s video from its official social media accounts.
The report says a bench comprising Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale took note of the removal and expressed strong displeasure. It attributes to the court the observation that India is a secular country and says the BMC was instructed to put the video back online immediately. If confirmed, the direction would place a civic authority’s control over its public communication channels under direct judicial scrutiny.
The account also quotes Fadnavis as describing the controversy as a very small issue. He reportedly said that the decision to remove the video had been taken by the BMC and that the authority managing the social media handle had the right to decide which content should remain available. He further said that Mirza was a good actor but not a major political figure, and that the issue was below his level.
This creates a material inconsistency within the supplied report. It presents the High Court’s reported direction as the latest development, while also quoting the Chief Minister as saying that the matter had not reached the High Court and that the court may only have expressed an opinion. The court order, the status of any proceedings and whether the video was re-uploaded therefore require confirmation from the Bombay High Court or the BMC.
The episode nevertheless highlights the administrative importance of municipal social media accounts. These channels are used not only for service updates but also for public-health and environmental messaging. When campaign content is removed after political objections, questions arise over who sets communication policy, whether the same standards apply to different contributors and how civic authorities balance festival sensitivities with pollution-control objectives. The supplied material does not establish the BMC’s formal moderation policy or the precise reason recorded for removing the video.
The next verifiable developments are the publication or confirmation of the relevant court direction, an official BMC response, and confirmation of whether Mirza’s video has been restored to the corporation’s social media accounts.
