The Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to repost an actor Dia Mirza’s appeal for a pollution-free Diwali after the civic body removed the video from its social media account amid a political controversy.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale expressed displeasure over the removal and said environmental issues should not be given another interpretation. The court also observed that India is a secular country, according to the report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai.
The video had been created as part of a BMC initiative and featured Mirza appealing to citizens to avoid firecrackers and celebrate Diwali in an environmentally friendly manner. The video was subsequently posted on the civic body’s official social media handle before being removed.
The court said Mirza had recorded the awareness video in accordance with directions issued by the court. Its order requires the BMC to upload the video again, bringing the municipal corporation’s communication strategy directly into the judicial proceedings.
The removal had prompted criticism from political leaders, who questioned why a message focused on reducing pollution during Diwali had been taken down. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad said the video addressed pollution prevention and environmentally responsible celebrations and had been produced under a civic initiative.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Suraj Chavan described the message shared by Mirza on X as being in Mumbai’s public interest. He referred to concerns over rising air pollution in the city and questioned the BMC’s decision to remove the video. Leaders from the Congress, NCP, Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena (UBT) also raised objections, according to the report.
The controversy intensified after BMC mayor Ritu Tawde criticised the video and alleged that Mirza’s opposition had consistently targeted Hindutva and groups associated with it. Tawde said Hindus did not need to be instructed on how to celebrate Diwali and accused the actor of pursuing a selective agenda.
The court’s direction places the focus back on the civic purpose of the campaign: public communication about pollution and environmentally safer festival practices. It also raises questions about how municipal bodies handle public-awareness material when environmental messaging becomes entangled in political disagreement.
The BMC is now required to repost the video in accordance with the Bombay High Court’s direction. The supplied report does not specify the deadline or the platform details for the reposting.
