The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition filed by three members of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction seeking permission to hold their annual 'Diwali Pahat', a musical programme, in Maharashtra's Thane district.
A division bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Kamal Khata said the plea was "devoid of merits" and hence dismissed. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has given permission to members of another group which is part of the Sena camp led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to hold this programme at the same location in the city neighbouring Mumbai.
According to a report of PTI, The petition, filed by Mandar Vichare, Sudhir Belose and Janak Sanghvi through their Anand Charitable Trust, challenged an October 13 order of the TMC granting permission to the Shinde faction for erecting a pandal and stage in Thane, after a preliminary permission was granted to the petitioners on October 10.
The petitioners said they were getting permission to organise Diwali Pahat at the location in question since 2016-17, therefore they had every right to do it at the same place because a large number of Thane residents attend it.
They also claimed that the TMC was acting at the behest of the ruling Sena faction of Shinde and the BJP. “The entire exercise done by the authorities is completely motivated to harass the petitioners and out of political rivalry,” the plea said.