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Loud DJ music: HC takes note of Class 2 girl’s death in Balrampur school
Hearing a long-pending PIL on pressure horns, modified silencers and hooters — PIL No. 15385 of 2021, Noise Pollution Thru Modified Silencers Suo Moto — a division bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla on September 28 took note of an application moved by amicus curiae, senior advocate Gaurav Mehrotra.
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The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident in which a seven-year-old Class 2 girl died inside her classroom last month, allegedly while a procession carrying a loud DJ system was passing by the school in Balrampur district.
The court has directed the Registry to register a separate suo motu PIL titled “Noise Pollution and Compliance of Statutory Provisions in this Regard by the Authorities Concerned”.
Hearing a long-pending PIL on pressure horns, modified silencers and hooters — PIL No. 15385 of 2021, Noise Pollution Thru Modified Silencers Suo Moto — a division bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla on September 28 took note of an application moved by amicus curiae, senior advocate Gaurav Mehrotra.
Mehrotra mentioned the urgency citing the September 22 incident, widely reported in the media.
“We have not drawn any conclusion as to the cause of death of the child, but the fact that loudspeakers or music instruments were being played at a very high pitch and immediately thereafter, the child collapsed in the classroom persuades us to take cognisance of the matter as noise pollution is now becoming a menace,” the court said.
The bench said that despite the menace being acknowledged by the legislature under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, it continues unabated. “Every day we find violation of Rules, 2000 on streets. It is common knowledge,” it said.
Though conscious of an order dated January 10, 2023, in WPIL No. 24981 of 2017, the bench said that as an exception, a separate PIL was required with regard to the incident and larger issues, as it would involve separate departments and it may not be feasible to array all of them in the present PIL. It directed the Registry to register a separate suo motu PIL and list on October 12 as a fresh matter. The ongoing PIL on noise pollution will be listed for hearing on October 9.
Additional chief standing counsel Vivek Shukla was directed to seek instructions/report from the Balrampur DM and SP and ensure service of the order upon the school through the DM so that the school may assist the court.
What court wants to examine
The court will examine who is responsible for curbing and curtailing the menace and what is being done in this regard. If, despite the steps taken, the menace is not curtailed, some mechanism needs to be put in place for regular monitoring of compliance with statutory provisions, it said. This would also entail spreading awareness among citizens, as lack of awareness is one of the main reasons for violations.
“If people violate statutory provisions, then they have to be made accountable,” the court said.
“We hope and trust that parents of the child and school authorities will not be pressurised and the functioning of the school shall not be interfered with unnecessarily by any person or authority of the State,” the bench said.
