The Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to re-upload actor Dia Mirza’s Diwali video promoting reduced firecracker use, saying the controversy should be treated as an environmental issue rather than a religious one.
A bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale took note of the video’s removal from the BMC’s social media accounts after political criticism. The video was part of a civic campaign featuring celebrities and aimed to encourage residents to celebrate Diwali while limiting air pollution caused by firecrackers.
The court praised Mirza’s public awareness message and questioned why her participation in the campaign had been opposed. Justice Kulkarni asked why the actor’s involvement was being challenged when the message was consistent with the court’s own directions concerning firecrackers.
Justice Gokhale said the matter was “entirely an environmental issue” and should not be given any other interpretation. The judge added that everyone breathes the same air. The bench also observed that restrictions on firecrackers do not remove people’s right to celebrate Diwali.
The court raised a constitutional question about preventing a person from celebrating a festival or joining a public awareness campaign because of her religion. It underlined that India is a secular country while directing the civic body to restore the deleted video on its social media platforms.
The campaign had included messages from several celebrities. Mirza’s video urged people to burst fewer crackers rather than avoid the festival altogether. The report said the BMC had invited her to participate as an ambassador and had asked her to create awareness in line with the High Court’s directions.
The controversy followed remarks by Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam, who said there was no need to take lessons from Mirza on celebrating Diwali and referred to tradition and culture. Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde also criticised Mirza and described her as taking an anti-Hindu position, according to the report.
The report did not carry a response from Satam or Tawde to the court’s observations. Opposition figures criticised the political response and said a municipal campaign funded by public money should focus on pollution and public health rather than the religious identity of its participants.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Gajanan Kale said the ruling had embarrassed Satam and the BJP. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar said it was wrong to discriminate against an artiste on religious grounds over an environmental message. Samajwadi Party MLA Raees Shaikh said the BMC belonged to all Mumbaikars and was not a party office.
The court’s direction places the BMC’s deleted communication back within the framework of civic responsibility: communicating the health and environmental effects of firecrackers while allowing residents to observe the festival. The next step is the re-uploading of Mirza’s video on the corporation’s social media accounts.
