City sectors affected by loud music from vicinity, UT admits in HC

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, November 26

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

  As the suo motu or “court on its own motion” case came up for hearing, UT counsel Gautam Dutt placed an affidavit by the Chandigarh Police before the Bench of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli.

 The 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.      

Taking a suo motu cognisance of nuisance created by loud music emanating from marriage palaces and private farmhouses around Chandigarh in Punjab and Haryana, the court had earlier directed the matter to be treated as a public interest litigation for framing of guidelines, particularly in view of the impending wedding season.  The notice came soon after a marriage, stated to be that of a Kansal municipal councillor’s son, gave the city residents a sleepless night.

In his note, Justice GS Sandhawalia asserted the Chandigarh Police, only recently, expressed its 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, helplessly exposed to loud music till about 3.45 am on the nights of November 15-16 and 16-17. 

Justice Sandhawalia 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 tresidents 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”

Justice Sandhawalia directed the placing of the matter before the Chief Justice for putting it up before a Division Bench for issuance of appropriate guidelines as the nuisance levels were likely to increase in view of the forthcoming wedding season. 

Justice Sandhawalia also directed the UT SSP to file an affidavit on the number of complaints regarding the nuisance and efforts made to send appropriate communication to his counterpart.