Advocate Sarin appointed amicus curiae

CHANDIGARH: Just about three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of nuisance created by loud, amplified music emanating from marriage palaces and private farmhouses around the city in the states of Punjab and Haryana, senior advocate ML Sarin has been appointed as amicus curiae or the friend of the court.

Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of nuisance created by loud, amplified music emanating from marriage palaces and private farmhouses

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 8

Just about three months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of nuisance created by loud, amplified music emanating from marriage palaces and private farmhouses around the city in the states of Punjab and Haryana, senior advocate ML Sarin has been appointed as amicus curiae or the friend of the court.

The Bench of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli added that the amicus curiae would assist the court in the matter. The High Court had earlier directed the matter to be treated as public interest litigation for framing of guidelines, particularly in view of the impending wedding season.

In his note, Justice GS Sandhawalia had asserted that the Chandigarh Police, only recently, expressed their helplessness on account of the fact that it had no writ or control over the amplified music emanating from the villages around the city, despite several complaints from the residents.

Justice Sandhawalia had added: “The issue arises that who will guard the guardians and whether such elected representatives/officers are beyond control and have total disregard for the other citizens of the country and the residents of the village, including residents of Chandigarh itself, and the wildlife, which is sensitive to such loud noise, and seeks refuge in the sanctuaries which are shrinking on account of human greed.”

The High Court was later told that noise from the city’s vicinity during marriage and other celebrations could be heard in the northern sectors and the matter had been taken up by the Chandigarh Police with their counterparts in Nayagaon.

An affidavit added that 100-metre area around Sukhna Lake had been declared a silence zone and another notification issued in 2005 allowed the playing of music in the city only between 6 pm and 10 pm. Referring to a particular incident underscored by a single judge of the High Court in his suo motu note, the affidavit added that five or six complaints received by the police were looked into.