India’s supreme court has banned the honking of horns, playing loud music and bursting firecrackers after nightfall in the country’s expanding residential areas.
”No one shall beat a drum or tom-tom or blow a trumpet or beat or sound any instrument or use any sound amplifier at night [between 10pm and 6am], except in public emergencies,” the country’s chief justice, RC Lahoti, said in response to a public-interest lawsuit.
Noise pollution is a growing blight in India, where limited space means flats and houses are built inches apart.
Psychologists in the country also point to increasing number of cases of stress caused by inhospitable urban environments.
One petition before the court highlighted the case of a 13-year-old rape victim whose cries for help were drowned out by loudspeakers. She set herself ablaze and died of burns.
Nights in India’s cities are often punctuated by wedding processions, political rallies and religious gatherings that extend into the night.
But such activities are under threat by a judgement delivered from the highest court in the land.
In breaking the peace of households, the court said, ”noise polluters have no regard for the inconvenience and discomfort of the people in the vicinity. No one can claim a right to create noise, even on his own premises, which would travel beyond his precincts and cause nuisance to neighbours and others. Nobody can claim fundamental right to create noise by amplifying the sound of speech with the help of loudspeakers.”
The supreme court decision means that the country’s 28 states and seven union territories will have to confiscate loudspeakers and amplifiers involved in breaches. Children will also have to learn about the ruinous effects of noise pollution.
In a nation where driving with one hand on the horn is considered essential for road safety, the court said: ”No horn should be allowed to be used at night in residential areas, except in exceptional circumstances.”
One landlord who owns property in Delhi laughed when told of the judges’ decision.
”I most definitely agree with the supreme court. But tell me who will catch the honking drivers and stop the marriages from going on. It is one thing to have a law, but it is another to enforce it.”
Another Delhi resident, Sudhir Vyas (38) told the BBC: ”I welcome the banning of horns and loudspeakers at night. However, crackers are only burst during celebrations, especially the main festival, Diwali, and people like to burst crackers at night only.” – Guardian Unlimited Â