The Maharashtra government on Monday withdrew its claim that Justice AS Oka, who is heading the bench that is to hear cases pertaining to noise pollution, is biased. The government apologised to him and said its intention has been “misunderstood and misinterpreted to project that the state is against the judiciary”, ANI reported.

Justice Oka is heading the bench that was cracking down on the state for its noise pollution norms. After the state government claimed Oka was “harbouring serious bias” against it on Thursday, Bombay High Court Chief Justice Manjula Chellur had withdrawn the case from him and transferred it to another bench.

However, following protests, Chellur formed a larger bench headed by Oka and comprising Justice Anoop V Mohta and Justice Riyaz Chagla to hear the petitions, The Indian Express reported on Sunday.

This new three-judge bench, which was slated to hear a batch of petitions on the subject on Monday, adjourned the hearing to Tuesday.