Thane Police have prohibited the photographing, filming and public dissemination of images of Ganesh and Gauri idols found along the shore or floating in water after immersion, prompting environmental activist and public-interest litigant Rohit Joshi to announce a legal challenge in the Bombay High Court.
The order has been issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. According to the report by Loksatta – Thane, it covers images and videos of partially dissolved idols that wash up on the shore or remain afloat after immersion, as well as the collection of idols by municipal workers.
The restriction is in force from September 15 to October 4. The police order states that publishing photographs or videos of idols after immersion could hurt religious sentiments and create a risk to public peace and law and order. Violations may attract action under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Joshi has objected to the order and said he would challenge it before the High Court. He has also issued a contempt notice and said that a contempt petition would be filed shortly, according to the report. He alleged that preventing the documentation of partially dissolved idols could amount to an attempt to conceal administrative failure.
The dispute is linked to the management of idol immersion in natural water bodies. Joshi claimed that the state government had told the court that Ganesh idols smaller than six feet would not be immersed in natural water sources. However, he also claimed to have received photographs and video recordings showing such idols being immersed in lakes, rivers, creeks and the sea.
The police restriction therefore covers a point at which festival management, environmental compliance and public-order administration overlap. The reported order does not merely concern ceremonial immersion itself; it also regulates what can be recorded and circulated afterwards, including the work of municipal employees collecting idols from water bodies and shorelines.
The available report does not include the full text of the police order, the specific court proceedings cited by Joshi, or a response from Thane Police, the Thane Municipal Corporation or the state government to his objections. It also does not establish whether any person has already been prosecuted under the order.
The next stated step is Joshi’s proposed contempt petition before the High Court. The restriction is scheduled to remain in effect until October 4, after which its legal and administrative implications may depend on further police action or court proceedings.
