Bombay HC Asks Maharashtra Stance on PM Appeal for Clay Ganesh Idols
The Bombay High Court on Monday, July 27, 2026, asked the Maharashtra government to clarify whether it will follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to install eco-friendly clay idols during this year's Ganesh festival. A bench comprising Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata raised the query in Mumbai while hearing a batch of petitions concerning the use and immersion of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols.
The court referred to the Prime Minister's Mann Ki Baat address aired on Sunday, in which he urged citizens to use eco-friendly clay idols. The judges showed a Marathi newspaper report detailing the Prime Minister's remarks to Advocate General Milind Sathe and asked for the state's official position. Sathe requested time to respond, and the court posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by environmentalist Rohit Joshi seeking strict enforcement of the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 2020 revised guidelines, alongside petitions by PoP idol manufacturers challenging the restrictions. The CPCB guidelines prohibit the immersion of PoP idols in natural water bodies to prevent the pollution of rivers, lakes, and the sea. The manufacturers contend that the restrictions violate their fundamental right to carry on business.
During the hearing, the court also questioned the CPCB over its changing stance regarding the 2020 guidelines. Counsel for the CPCB, Abhinandan Vagyani, submitted that although the guidelines were previously upheld by the High Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT), they were only advisory in nature.
Justice Gadkari questioned how the CPCB could now claim the guidelines were advisory when both the High Court and NGT had previously proceeded on the understanding that they were mandatory. The judges asked why the CPCB altered its position only in 2025. Vagyani replied that the change was based on a request from the Maharashtra government and recommendations from a committee, prompting the bench to question if the CPCB changed its stand simply because the state government asked it to.
Last year, after the CPCB clarified that its guidelines were advisory, the High Court relied on the Maharashtra government's immersion policy dated August 1, 2025, to permit the immersion of PoP idols taller than six feet in natural water bodies. The hearing will continue on Wednesday.
