NAGPUR: Citing a Supreme Court precedent, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that the use of loudspeakers is not an essential part of practising any religion and that amplified sound cannot violate the rights of unwilling listeners. The court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Masjid Gousiya in Maharashtra’s Gondia district seeking restoration of permission to use loudspeakers at the mosque.
The division bench noted: “The Supreme Court has observed that no religion requires its followers to perform prayers in a manner that disturbs others through loudspeakers or drum beating.” During an earlier hearing on October 16, the High Court had asked the petitioner to show whether the use of loudspeakers was mandatory in their religious practice.
The court said the petitioner failed to produce any legal or religious text supporting such a claim and was therefore “not entitled to seek relief.” It added that the Supreme Court had made it clear that while there is a right to free speech, there is also a corresponding right to listen—or not to listen. “No one can be forced to hear, and no one has the right to make their voice intrude into the minds of others,” the bench remarked.
The High Court also referred to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and highlighted the health hazards associated with excessive noise.
