Chennai, Feb 24 The Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking to halt the Mahashivratri celebrations scheduled for the night of February 26-27 at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore district.
A Division Bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar on Monday rejected the petition filed by S.T. Sivagnanam, a neighbouring landowner.
He had argued that the 2024 Mahashivratri celebrations attracted around seven lakh people, raising concerns about pollution.
During the hearing, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J. Ravindran, representing the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), assured the court that officials would monitor ambient noise levels to ensure they remain within the permissible limit of 75 dB(A).
TNPCB Member Secretary R. Kannan, in a counter-affidavit, stated that the yoga centre operates four Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) with a total capacity of 1.725 million liters per day (MLD). These facilities are sufficient to manage sewage from approximately 6,000 residents and 5,000-10,000 daily visitors.
For the 2025 Mahashivratri celebrations, the TNPCB has advised the centre to install temporary toilets for the additional crowd and use tanker lorries to transport excess sewage to the Coimbatore Corporation’s STP.
The centre has also been asked to maintain a logbook for sewage transportation.
Based on an estimated sewage generation rate of 12 litres per person, the TNPCB calculated that 60,000 attendees would produce 720 kilolitres (KL) of sewage. This amount can be easily managed by the Coimbatore Corporation’s STP, which has a total treatment capacity of 70 MLD but is currently processing only 30 MLD.
The TNPCB also informed the court that during the 2024 celebrations, an ambient noise level survey was conducted at five locations, including the petitioner’s premises. The survey found that noise levels remained within the permissible 75 dB(A) limit for non-planned areas.
A similar survey will be conducted during the 2025 celebrations.
Senior counsel Satish Parasaran, representing Isha Foundation, emphasised that the organisers do not use cone speakers and have implemented noise limiters to ensure compliance with prescribed noise levels.
After hearing all parties, the judges ruled that there was no justification to entertain the petition. They noted that a similar writ petition filed by Sivagnanam before the 2024 Mahashivratri festival is still pending before the High Court.
The Bench also underscored that while public interest is paramount, the law must be followed diligently.
It reiterated that access to clean water, air, and noise pollution control is an integral part of the right to life, and the state has a duty to safeguard these fundamental rights.
Dismissing the petition, the court stated that since the TNPCB had confirmed Isha Foundation’s adherence to pollution control norms during the 2024 celebrations, there was no basis for judicial intervention in the 2025 event based solely on apprehensions.
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