Follow the law you have made, if you don’t want to follow Court’s orders: HC to Goa govt

PANJIM: The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court’s order indicting the Goa government and its administration for being complicit in encouraging sound pollution violations goes beyond just the EDM festival called Sunburn.

It was held this time under a company called M/s Spacebound Web Lab Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, “having temporary address at Anjuna village” (as per court documents).

It has asked the Goa government to follow the rule of law, which they themselves have enacted; even if they do not want to follow judicial orders on all violations, especially environmental ones. The order of January 3 by the Bench of Justices Mahesh Sonak and Bharat Deshpande, asks the Goa government to simply govern by not just enacting but implementing its laws. 

The order is in response to a PIL filed by Rajesh Sinary against the State of Goa and nine others including respondent number 10 Spacebound Web Lab Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, the company which secured the permissions to conduct the Sunburn EDM festival in Anjuna in December 2022.

The PIL specifically charges that the organisers of Sunburn conducted their EDM festival from December 27 to December 30 by violating noise pollution rules and levels rampantly, with the Anjuna Police and the Goa State Pollution Control Board literally standing as mute spectators. The court observed that music beyond permissible limits was played beyond 10 pm with both the GSPCB and the PI Anjuna playing a blame game passing the buck on each other, with neither of them acting against the Sunburn organisers.

Goa authorities were waiting for Sunburn to get over for the complaints of citizens against noise pollution to die down, says the High Court.

“The Authorities were perhaps confident that once the event (Sunburn’s EDM) was over there would be no further inquiries into the citizens’ complaints and their own inaction. However, if such an approach continues, the rule of law will be rendered a casualty.

In what is being seen as a clear wrap on the government, given the clear tone of the order, the High Court went as far as to tell the government to at least follow the rules that the legislature has enacted, even if they don’t want to follow the court.

“In the present case, we get the impression that the anxiety of the authorities tasked with the duty to ensure compliance with the Noise Pollution Rules, not to mention the orders made by this Court from time to time, was to ensure that this particular EDM festival proceeds unhindered, even though, the GSPCB report prima facie shows that the noise level limits were being breached with impunity,” the High Court observed.

It further said that the Goa government authorities “take great pride in tolerating the breaching of the Noise Pollution Rules” and the Court’s directions.

Going beyond the Sunburn festival, fingers have been pointed at Pollution Control Board officials.  “Unfortunately, the police authorities, GSPCB officials, The Collectors, or Deputy Collectors do not appear to be taking up the issue of enforcement with the desired and expected level of seriousness (as was evident from the unfortunate blame game staged out in the open Court between the officials of the GSPCB and the Police). This means that the breach is apparent to the authorities, but no one was prepared to accept the responsibility,” the Court said.