Shor in the city: What the rulebook says about the use of loudspeakers in religious places

In a recent speech at a rally in Mumbai's Shivaji Park, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray called on the state government to remove loudspeakers from mosques, warning that if it failed to do so his party would place loudspeakers in front of mosques and play the “Hanuman Chalisa”.

Days later, the Maharashtra home department on Monday decided to implement the earlier court orders on the use of loudspeakers at religious sites. The state government will now make it mandatory for religious sites to seek permission for using loudspeakers.

Also read: New Azaan, Hanuman Chalisa rules in Maharashtra soon: Here's all you need to know

Due to the increasing political noise over the use of loudspeakers at religious institutions, especially against loudspeakers used at mosques, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday demanded that the Union government come out with a national policy on the use of loudspeakers, and implement it in BJP-ruled states first.

In the recent weeks, communal violence erupted in several areas across the country, including during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri and during Ram Navami rallies in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and West Bengal.

Let’s take a look a look at what the courts have said in the past about the use of loudspeakers:

Supreme Court judgment of 2005

The Supreme Court had banned the use of loudspeakers and music systems in public places between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (except in cases of public emergencies) in July 2005, citing the serious effects of noise pollution on the health of those who live in such areas.

The apex court noted that states shall make provision for seizure and confiscation of loudspeakers, amplifiers and such other equipments as are found to be creating noise beyond the permissible limits.

Uttar Pradesh

In May 2020, while responding to a batch of PILs and letter petitions challenging the Ghazipur district administration’s restrictions on recital of azaan during COVID-19 lockdown, the Allahabad High Court allowed azaan in mosques without using any amplifier or loudspeaker.

The court ruled that azaan could be recited by a muezzin from minarets of the mosques but without using loudspeaker.

Earlier in December 2017, the Allahabad High Court slammed the authorities over their failure to curb noise pollution and asked the Uttar Pradesh government whether the loudspeakers or public address systems installed at mosques, temples, churches, gurdwaras etc. were installed after obtaining a written permission from the authorities concerned.

If that was not the case, then what action had been taken against such unauthorised installations and also against those officers, who failed to ensure the mandatory requirement of obtaining a written permission, the Lucknow bench of the court asked.

Impact of the December 2017 order:

The Yogi Adityanath government banned the use of loudspeakers at temples, mosques and other public places without permission and set 15 January, 2018 as the deadline to remove the amplifiers.
After receiving flak from the Allahabad High Court over noise pollution in Uttar Pradesh, the state government also issued detailed directives on the use of permanently installed loudspeakers at these places.

Tamil Nadu

While maintaining that the freedom of religion is a fundamental right and cannot be interfered with, the Madras High Court in August 2017 stressed that the Supreme Court guidelines on sound systems used by mosques for giving prayer calls should be followed.

The observations were made by the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar during the hearing of a PIL on the matter.

The public interest litigation alleged rampant seizure of loudspeakers used for azaan by mosques in Pollachi taluk in Coimbatore district by officials without verifying whether the sound levels were within the permissible limits or not.

Karnataka

In January 2021, the Karnataka High Court directed the state government to direct the police and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to take action as per the Supreme Court’s directions and noise pollution rules, against the illegal use of loudspeakers at religious places.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order after hearing a PIL filed by Girish Bharadwaj, seeking to restrict the use of loudspeakers by political parties; at religious places such as temples, mosques, churches, and gurudwaras, among others; and also noise from horns in residential areas.

Punjab and Haryana

In July 2019, the Punjab and Haryana High Court banned the use of loudspeakers in public places, including religious institutions. According to the court, public address systems should only be used with prior permission, and the noise level should never exceed the allowable limit.

Maharashtra

In July 2014, the Bombay high court directed the police to remove loudspeakers from those mosques in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai that have not obtained required permissions for them from the authorities.

Again in August 2016, the Bombay High Court ruled that the use of loudspeakers was not a fundamental right. It said that no religion or sect could claim that the right to use a loudspeaker or public address system was a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25 of the Indian Constitution.

With inputs from agencies

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