Removed 343 loudspeakers from religious structures across Maharashtra: State to HC

The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition for contempt against the state for illegal loudspeakers, noting substantial compliance with a 2016 order.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday disposed of a petition filed by a Navi Mumbai-based social activist, seeking a contempt action against the state government for its non-compliance with a 2016 order about the installation of illegal loudspeakers on religious shrines across the state. The government has already taken substantial steps to curb noise pollution, said the bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne, adding that there was no requirement to initiate a contempt action against the concerned government officials by the petition filed by Santosh Pachlag.

An RTI response stated that there were 2,940 speakers on religious structures in the state.

The court orders came after it noticed an affidavit by the Director General of Police (DGP), Rashmi Shukla, stating that 2,812 loudspeakers were functioning across the state by various religious structures as of April 2025. Out of these, the authorities have removed 343 loudspeakers. They provided licenses and permissions for 831 loudspeakers. The police sent warning notices to 767 structures, which then did not exceed the permissible noise decibel limits. Apart from these, the police have registered 19 First Information Reports in cases of violations.

In January 2025, Pachlag’s advocate, Deendayal Dhanure, told the court that based on an RTI response Pachlag received in 2019, the government was aware of at least 2,940 illegal loudspeakers. He added that in an August 2016 judgement, the court had issued 37 directions dealing with noise pollution. The judgement also observed that there were provisions to send violators of the Noise Pollution Rules to jail for five years (seven in case of continuous contravention) or fine them up to ₹1 lakh. However, the court noted there was a lack of enforcement of the said provisions. In the same judgement, it recalled the committee, headed by Justice Sujata Manohar, that detailed various health hazards caused by the use of loudspeakers.

In January, the Supreme Court also observed that noise can disturb sleep and communication, damage hearing, and evoke gynaecological and pathological reactions, he said. It noted that the police commissioner, deputy police commissioner, and assistant police commissioners were the authority under the Noise Rules. If loudspeakers exceed the ambient noise standard by 10 decibels, any person can file a complaint with the authorities. The authorities are bound to take appropriate actions against the violator.

The government pleader, Neha Bhide, informed the court that a state-appointed nodal officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police supervises actions taken against the illegal loudspeakers.

Finding the actions to be “satisfactory,” the division bench observed that the government has complied with the directives issued in 2016, with no case of wilful disobedience. “It is evident that the authorities have substantially complied with the order. Hence, no contempt is made out and the contempt petition is disposed of,” the court said.