ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 19 April. Click Here for more information.
ForumIAS Answer Writing Focus Group (AWFG) for Mains 2024 commencing from 24th June 2024. The Entrance Test for the program will be held on 28th April 2024 at 9 AM. To know more about the program visit: https://forumias.com/blog/awfg2024
Contents
What is the News?
The Supreme Court judgments which govern the use of loudspeakers were intended to protect citizens from becoming “forced audience” to noise.
What are the key observations from Supreme Court’s judgments on loudspeakers?
Freedom from Noise Pollution under Article 21
Regulating the use of loudspeakers and timings was based on the legal principle that freedom from noise pollution is a part of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Disturbance to Neighbours
Nobody from any religion can claim a right to create noise even on his own premises which would travel beyond his precincts and cause a nuisance to neighbours or others.
Loudspeakers in Religious Practices
On the use of loudspeakers in religious practices, the Supreme Court reproduced parts of a newspaper column which said the objective of any religion was not to force anyone to listen to its expressions of faith.
Hence, the logic that loudspeakers are not a must to spread religious devotion appealed to it.
Source: The post is based on the article “SC is loud and clear on noise pollution” published in The Hindu on 5th May 2022.