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Gujarat High Court issues notice to government seeking actions like banning the use of loudspeakers in Mosques in state

Allahabad HC in a ruling in 2022 had said that loudspeakers are not part of Islam and the PIL in Gujarat HC referred to that judgement.

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the state government and others in response to a PIL seeking a ban on loudspeakers on mosques in the state.

A division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri issued notices, returnable on March 10, to the state government, the Gandhinagar district collector and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) over the Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

The PIL said the complaint was forwarded to the inspector of the police station concerned in the capital city, but no action had been taken on it so far.

The sound of loudspeakers at the said mosque causes “great disturbance to public at large,” “creates noise pollution,” is “very high and not bearable,” and creates severe mental illness to elders and children, it claimed.

Citing several judgements, the petition stated, “Supreme Court has held that no religion prescribes that prayers should be performed by disturbing the peace of others nor does it preach that they should be through voice amplifiers or beating of drums. It is also held that in a civilised society in the name of religion, activities which disturb old or infirm persons, students or children having their sleep in the early hours or during daytime or other persons carrying on other activities, cannot be permitted because in case of student, he/she preparing for his/her examination is entitled to concentrate on his/her studies without there being any unnecessary disturbance.”

Before issuing the notices, the Chief Justice asked questions to the lawyer for the petitioner about how much decibel noise is created from the loud speakers and also about the norms related to taking out marriage processions with ‘band baja’.

The petitioner’s lawyer said that loud speakers create noise beyond the permissible limit. About marriage processions, he said these happen once in a lifetime while loud speakers are being used in mosques five times in a day.

Moreover there are restrictions on noise while organising events like Garba in Navratri and Ganesh Utsav and this should apply to mosques also.

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