Court On Its Own Motion vs State Of Punjab on 1 May, 2012

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Punjab-Haryana High Court

Court On Its Own Motion vs State Of Punjab on 1 May, 2012

Bench: Alok Singh

CWP No. 4794 of 2011                   1

           IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT

                           CHANDIGARH.

                           CWP No.        4794 of 2011
                           Date of decision 1.5.2012

Court on its own motion                             . Petitioner

                           Versus

State of Punjab                                     .. Respondent

CORAM:        HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE
              HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK SINGH

Present:      Mr. Alok Jain, Addl. AG Punjab
              Mr. Narender Singh, DAG Hy.

Mr., Sanjay Kaushal, Sr. Standing Counsel with Mr. Ashish Rawal, Advocate for Chandigarh Administration.

1. To be referred to the Reporter or not ?

2. Whether the judgement should be reported in the Digest ? M.M.KUMAR, Acg.CJ.

1. A letter dated 25.2.2011 was addressed to Hon'ble the Chief Justice of this Court by Smt. Amarjit Kaur w/o Balkar Singh resident of village and PO Muchhal, Tehsil Baba Bakala, District Amritsar stating that in her village there were about 24 religious places including 13 Gurdwaras, two temples and about 6 worshiping places of Muslim Saints where religious functions are regularly held. The holding of Akhand Path, Jagratas and other functions relating to marriages are daily organized where loudspeakers with full volume keep blaring which continue till mid- night and D.J. conduct the musical evening which result into extreme inconvenience to the public in general and to the children in particular. The loudspeakers are frequently used at religious places from early morning 4.00-5.00 AM leaving hardly any time for the residents to sleep properly and the students to read in peace. When the examination of the CWP No. 4794 of 2011 2 children of the complainant were around the corner, she contacted the Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar who rebuked her and even she spent two nights out of her house like refugees. On 29.12.2010 some people raised slogans against her husband and no action was taken by the police. It is in that light that the instant petition was treated as Public Interest Litigation because they apprehended danger to their life at the hands of the administration and the general public because they were clamoring for enforcement of the orders passed by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in their village. She further pointed that she and her husband have earlier filed complaints to the Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural) , Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar and Station House Officer, Police Station, Tarsika.They also sent SMS but no heed has been paid to their request. On the contrary, they were called to the police station where they were humiliated. Accordingly the writ petition was registered being CWP No. 4794 of 2011 and notices were issued.

2. In the counter affidavit, the District Magistrate, Amritsar has stated that under Section 4 of the Punjab Instruments (Control of Noise) Act, 1956 no person is permitted to use or operate any instrument between ten o'clock in the night upto six o' clock in the morning except with the written permission of the District Magistrate or any officer authorized by him in this behalf. The District Magistrate has quoted the directions issued by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in Writ Petition ( Civil) No. 72 of 1998 as well as in Appeal No. 3735 of 2005 Noise Pollution(V) in Re. v. UOI (2005) 5 SCC 733 which pertains to noise pollution arising out of loudspeakers, fire-crackers and other instruments. The directions dated 18.7.2005 read as under:

CWP No. 4794 of 2011 3

"1. The noise level at the boundary of the public place, where loudspeakers or public address system or any other noise source is being used shall not exceed 10 dB(A) above the ambient noise standards for the area or 75 dB (A) whichever is lower.

2. No one shall beat a drum of tom-tom or blow a trumpet or bet or sound any instrument or use any sound amplifier at night (between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am) except in public emergencies.

3. The peripheral noise level of privately owned sound system shall not exceed by more than 5dB(A) than ambient air quality standard specified for the area in which it is used, at the boundary of the private place."

3. In pursuance to the aforesaid directions issued by their Lordships of Hon'ble the Supreme Court, the District Magistrate has stated that instructions were issued to all the Sub Divisional Magistrates of District Amritsar vide letter dated 18.10.2007 with a copy to both Senior Superintendent of Police, Amritsar City and Amritsar Rural for surprise checking through the Police Officers with a view to control the noise pollution (R.1). The directions were also conveyed to the President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Amritsar. The District Magistrate also issued letter dated 8.2.2008 to direct the Managers of religious places to avoid use of loudspeaker at high volume (R.2). It has also been submitted that whenever any complaint is received concerning noise pollution the matter is taken up immediately to redress the grievances of the affected persons. It is conceded that husband of the CWP No. 4794 of 2011 4 complainant Balkar Singh son of Niranjan Singh had made a complaint dated 6.12.2010 to the District Magistrate and the same was duly forwarded to the Sr. Superintendent of Police, Amritsar (Rural) on 13.12.2010 for information and necessary action. He has also disclosed the registration of three FIRs namely 1. FIR No. 496, dated 3.12.2009, Police Station Civil Lines, Amritsar; 2. FIR No. 100, dated 10/3/2010, Police Station Sadar, Amritsar and 3. FIR No. 33/11, dated 14.4.2011, Police Station Tarsika. The Gram Panchayat Muchhal has passed a resolution that no one would be permitted to play loudspeaker /DJ system between 10.00 PM to 6.00 AM and any violation of the resolution would be met with appropriate action. It has therefore been prayed that since necessary steps have already been taken, the writ petition may be dismissed.

4. Another affidavit dated 18.1.2012 has been filed by the Additional Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Industries and Commerce in order to comply with the directions of this Court which are aimed at avoiding the noise pollution wherein it has been pointed out that an Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Director of Industries and Commerce, Punjab has been constituted which held its meeting on 25.10.2011. The Committee discovered that Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forest has already prescribed norms concerning limit of noise at manufacturing stage for two wheelers, three wheelers, vehicles used for carriage of passengers, vehicles used for transport of goods with different engine powers, domestic appliances such as window air conditioner, air coolers, refrigerators, construction equipments etc. According to the affidavit, the details of the norm are : CWP No. 4794 of 2011 5

"(a) Noise limits for vehicles i.e. two wheelers (with different displacement), three wheelers (with different displacement), Vehicles used for carriage of passengers, vehicles used for transport of goods with different engine powers, have been prescribed at the manufacturing stage w.e.f. 01.04.2005 in part (E) para A,AA(2) in schedule-III appended to the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 as under:-

       Sr.                Type of Vehicles                  Noise Limits dB
       No.
       1.0   Two Wheelers
       1.1   Displacement upto 80 CC                        75

1.2 Displacement more than 80 CC but upto 175 77 CC 1.3 Displacement more than 175 CC 80 2.0 Three Wheelers 2.1 Displacement upto 75 cc 77 2.2 Displacement more than 175 cc 80 3.0 Vehicles used for the carriage of passengers 74 and capable of having not more than nine seats, including the driver's seat 4.0 Vehicles used for the carriage of passengers having more than nine seats, including the driver's seat, and a maximum Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of more than 3.5 tonnes.

4.1 With an engine power less than 150 KW 78

4.2 With an engine power of 150 KW or above 80 5.0 Vehicles used for the carriage of passengers having more than nine seats, including the driver's seat: Vehicles used for carriage of goods.

5.1 With a maximum GVW not exceeding 2 76 tonnes.

5.2 With a maximum GVW greater than 3 tonnes 77 but not exceeding 3.5 tonnes 6.0 Vehicles used for the transport of goods with a maximum GVW exceeding 3.5 tonnes.

6.1 With an engine power less than 75 KW 77

6.2 With an engine power of 75 KW or above but 78 less than 250 KW 6.3 With an engine power of 150 KW or above. 80 CWP No. 4794 of 2011 6

(b) In paragraph B, part E of Schedule-III appended to the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, Noise limit for domestic appliances and construction equipments at the manufacturing stage to be achieved by 31st December, 1993.


            (a)   Window Air Conditioners of 1 ton to 1.5 ton           68

            (b)   Air Coolers                                           60

            (c)   Refrigerators                                         46

            (d)   ******                                                ****

            (e)   Compactors (Rollers) Front Loaders,                   75

Concrete Mixers, Cranes (moveable), Vibrators and Saws

(c) Noise limits for generator sets run with petrol or kerosene as fuel, manufactured in or imported into India, are prescribed in paragraph 91 of schedule-I appended to the Environment (Protection) Rules 1986, as under:-

Noise limit from 1(September 1, 2002) 2(September 1, 2003) Sound Power Level Lwa 90 dBA 86dBA

(d) Noise limits for diesel generators sets (upto 1000 KVA) manufactured or imported in India on or after (1st January, 2005) have also been prescribed in paragraph 94 of schedule-I appended to the Environment (Protection) Rules 1986 which is 75 dB(A) at 1 m.

(e) That some agencies are authorized for type approval and for verification of conformity of production as under:-

i) Automotive Research Association of India, Pune.

ii) National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi.

iii) Naval Science & Technology Laboratory, Visakhapatnam.

iv) Fluid Control Research Institute, Palghat, and CWP No. 4794 of 2011 7

v) National Aerospace Laboratory, Banglore.

f) That the noise standards in respect of the motor vehicle, have been prescribed in Part-E of Schedule-VI of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 framed under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989. In addition to this, whenever any motor vehicle is manufactured by the manufacturer, it is mandatory for them to get a 'Type Approval Certificate' from any one of the testing agencies prescribed under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989. On the basis of this ' Type Approval Certificate', the Transport Department accords approval for the registration of motor vehicle".

5. The Expert Committee further observed that both the Central and the State Governments have enacted laws on the subject. Rules have also been framed under the provisions of Environment (Protection ) Act, 1986 which are known as Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. A reference has also been made to the Punjab Instruments (Control of Noises) Act, 1956. According to para 4 of the affidavit reads as under:

" (a) Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000:-

Considering the fact that he increasing ambient noise level in public places from various sources, inter-alia, industrial activity, construction activity, generator sets, loud speakers, public address systems, music systems, vehicular horns and other mechanical devices have deleterious effect on human health and the psychological well being of the people and to regulate and control noise producing and generating CWP No. 4794 of 2011 8 sources with the objective of maintaining the ambient air quality standards in respect of noise, the Central Govt. in the Ministry of Environment & Forest has notified the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 vide notification No. SO123(E) dated 14.02.2000, under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. District Magistrate, Commissioner of Police or any other officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police have been designated as prescribed authority for the maintenance of the Ambient Air Quality Standards in respect of Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.

(b) The Punjab Instrument (Control of Noises) Act, 1956:-

In order to control the nuisance arising from the indiscriminating use of loud speakers, amplifiers and other apparatus emitting and transmitting sound, the Government of Punjab has enacted, 'The Punjab Instruments (Control of Noises) Act, 1956', wherein it is provided that no person shall use or operate any instrument between 10.00 PM in the night and 6.00 AM in the morning except with the written permission of the District Magistrate or any officer authorized by him in this behalf and under such conditions as may be attached to it. Under this Act, District Magistrate or any other officer authorized by him are competent to implement the provisions contained therein.

5. The certain amendments relating to the noise CWP No. 4794 of 2011 9 level of Loud Speaker, Public Address System, privately owned Sound System or a sound producing Instrument, use of Horns, Sound Emitting Construction Equipments and bursting of Fire Crackers have been recently carried out by the Central Government through Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules 2000 vide Notification No. SO 50 (E) dated 11 January 2010. The details are mentioned below:-

(a) As per the provisions of Rule 5, sub rule 4 and 5, the noise level of a loud speaker or public address system or any other noise source used at a public place shall not exceed 10 db (A) above the ambient noise standards for the area or 75 db (A) whichever is lower, at the boundary of the public place and the noise level of the privately owned system or a sound producing instrument shall not exceed 5 db(A) the ambient noise standards specified for the area at the boundary of the private place in which it is used.

(b) Some restrictions on the use of horns, sound emitting construction equipments and busting of fire crackers have been imposed in the said rules. It is provided in Rule 5 A of the said rules that no horn shall be used in silence zones or during night time in residential area except during public emergency, sound emitting fire crackers shall be burst in silence zone or during night time and sound emitting construction equipments shall not be used or operated during night CWP No. 4794 of 2011 10 time in residential areas and silence zone."

6. Likewise, an affidavit dated 17.1.2012 has been filed by the District Magistrate, Chandigarh stating that to control and check the use of instruments such as loudspeakers, microphones, amplifiers etc. they follow the provisions contained in the Noise Pollution ( Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 framed by the Central Government under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and also the Punjab Instruments (Control of Noises ) Act, 1956. It has further been stated that necessary permission for use of loudspeakers, microphones, amplifiers etc. is granted as per the provisions contained in the Rules and the Act only after obtaining report from the concerned Station House Officer of the Police Station. Those who use loudspeakers, microphones amplifiers etc. beyond permissible limit and time are prosecuted.

7. Affidavit dated 27.4.2012 has then been filed by the Under Secretary to Government Haryana, Environment Department, Haryana. It has been stated that in compliance of the orders of this Court an Expert Committee was constituted on 31.1.2012 under the Chairmanship of Director General, Environment Department, Haryana which held its meeting on 17.2.2012. The Committee after going through various relevant Acts and Rules have made the following recommendations:

" Manufacturing of sound producing instruments are mainly at National level and these are traded across the country and interstate. Further, sound producing instruments are also imported from outside countries and only national regulations can have better check on all such activities. CWP No. 4794 of 2011 11

In view of the above stated facts recommendations of the Committee are as under:

i) The Committee suggests that the noise generated from any musical instrument or sound producing instrument should not exceed 55 dBA.

ii) It is feasible to regulate the noise level at the manufacture/ possession level of noise producing instruments, but it can be only done at the National level as the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India is the only competent authority to frame any Rules or guidelines under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and all such powers are vested with them. Further, noise standards are also notified by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India and this being highly technical matter, only the Central Government can take a decision with the help of specialists/ experts in the field at the National level.

iii) The Committee is of the opinion that regulations regarding noise generated from sound producing instruments can be framed at the National level by the Ministry of Env ironment & Forests, Govt. of India or by the Central Pollution Control Board, because instruments are not only manufactured in India but are also imported from other countries. These National standards for noise regulations so framed by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of CWP No. 4794 of 2011 12 India for sound producing instruments shall be made applicable to all the States for manufacture/ possession of sound producing instruments including possession of imported instruments being imported from other countries."

8. It has also been stated in the affidavit that Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India has already framed the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control )Rules, 2000 which has notified the following noise standards.


             Area           Maximum permissible Noise level (in dBA)

                            Day Time        Night time (10 pm to 6.00 am)

            Industrial area       75           70
            Commercial Area       65           55
            Residential Area      55           45
            Silence Zone          50           40

9. Having gone through the various inter-locutory orders, affidavits of the officers and the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, we wish to close this public interest litigation by issuing following directions:

a) The affidavit dated 27.4.2012 refers to a report of the Expert Committee and the recommendations made by it. In the preceding para 7(i) and (ii) those recommendations shall be pursued further by respondent-State of Punjab. The matter shall be taken up with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. It shall be taken to its logical end so as to introduce effective measure for controlling the noise generated from any musical instrument or sound CWP No. 4794 of 2011 13 producing instrument by keeping them at 55 dBA. The Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India is also directed to take effective steps in view of the recommendation made by the Expert Committee. The regulation, if necessary, be formed for that purpose. The needful shall be done by December, 2012 and status report be f iled on or before 10.12.2012.

b) The State of Punjab is directed to ensure reigrous compliance of the rules framed by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The aforesaid rules, known as Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 have notified the noise level in dBA for the day time and the night time (10.00 P.M. to 6.00 A.M.) for different areas. A periodical compliance report with regard to such rules shall be sent by the State of Punjab after seeking help from the Pollution Control Board for every three months. The first report may be filed in the first week of September, 2012 and the 2nd report shall be filed in the first week of December, 2012. The aforesaid reports be placed on record. The matter be posted before the Green Bench on 17.12.2012 for perusal of record. The Bench may like to issue further directions.

c) The respondent- State of Punjab shall also ensure compliance with the directions issued by Hon'ble the Supreme Court in the cases of Noise Pollution (V), In Re v. Forum Prevention of Environmental and Sound Pollution (2005) 5 SCC 733 and Noise Pollution (VI) in Re. Their Lordships of CWP No. 4794 of 2011 14 the Supreme Court dealing with various cases of noise pollution created by Air Craft, industry, construction, fire works, road traffic, its effect and the curative methods being adopted in other countries like United Kingdom, United States of America and Japan, in para 174 of the judgement in Noise Pollution (V) (supra) have issued directions with regard to firecrackers, loudspeakers and vehicular noise. In para 177 directions for bringing awareness towards the hazardous effects of noise pollution have been issued.

The respondent- State shall ensure compliance of these directions and shall file status report by 10.12.2012 which shall be placed before the Green Bench as per the directions issued in the preceding paras.

10. With the aforesaid direction and observations, the instant Public Interest Litigation is closed at this stage.

(M.M. KUMAR) Acting Chief Justice (Alok Singh ) 1.5.2012 Judge okg CWP No. 4794 of 2011 15

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