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‘Noise should not spill beyond premises’: Bijnor police arrest mosque muezzin
Mohammad Faizan, 23, a resident of Mohalla Maqbara, was arrested on Saturday after police allegedly found a loudspeaker operating at a high volume at Najibuddoula Mosque near Government Inter College (GIC) in Najibabad. He was produced before a sub-divisional magistrate’s court, which remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody, police said on Sunday.
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Bijnor police have arrested a mosque muezzin in Najibabad for allegedly violating prescribed volume limits while reciting the azaan, saying noise from sound-amplification equipment should not spill beyond the premises if permission to use a loudspeaker has not been obtained.
Mohammad Faizan, 23, a resident of Mohalla Maqbara, was arrested on Saturday after police allegedly found a loudspeaker operating at a high volume at Najibuddoula Mosque near Government Inter College (GIC) in Najibabad. He was produced before a sub-divisional magistrate’s court, which remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody, police said on Sunday.
“The mosque management had no permission to use a loudspeaker. In such a situation, the noise of sound-amplification equipment should not come out of the premises,” said additional superintendent of police (city) Krishna Gopal Singh.
He said the government and courts had issued directions from time to time on the use of loudspeakers and other sound-amplification equipment, and police were conducting campaigns to ensure compliance.
According to police, sub-inspector Saurabh Singh and constable Rohit were patrolling the area on Saturday to maintain law and order and check suspicious persons and vehicles. At around 12:45 pm, they reached the area near GIC and allegedly heard a loudspeaker being operated at a high volume at the mosque. During an inspection, police found Faizan reciting the azaan.
The volume allegedly exceeded prescribed limits, causing noise pollution and inconvenience to passers-by, police said.
Sub-inspector Saurabh Singh subsequently lodged a report at Najibabad police station. Police registered a case against Faizan, seized the loudspeaker, amplifier and microphone, and arrested him.
The action comes amid a district-wide drive by Bijnor police to regulate loudspeaker use at religious places. In September, police claimed to have removed more than 4,500 loudspeakers from religious sites.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Khurshid Mansoori, chairman of Sahaspur Nagar Panchayat, urged the district administration to ensure an impartial examination of the case and provide information and assistance regarding the legal relief available to Faizan.
“The azaan is an important part of the religious tradition of the Muslim community. Matters involving religious activities should be handled sensitively, through mutual dialogue and in accordance with the law. An appropriate decision should be taken only after an impartial examination of all the facts,” Mansoori said.
He called for meetings with mosque committees and religious representatives to issue clear guidelines on the azaan, loudspeaker use and noise regulations to prevent similar incidents.
“The religious sentiments of people belonging to all communities should be respected. While ensuring compliance with the law, we must also strengthen brotherhood and social harmony. The district administration should take a positive initiative towards a just resolution, keeping the sensitivity of the matter in mind,” he added.
The case comes amid continued administrative and judicial scrutiny of noise pollution and loudspeaker use in public places.
Earlier this month, the Allahabad high court directed the police and district administration not to interfere with the right to recite the azaan (Islamic call to prayer) five times a day at a mosque in Saharanpur, provided the petitioners complied with prescribed noise limits and the court’s 2020 judgment on loudspeaker use.
