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Delhi Gymkhana Club
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Mumbai:

Use of loudspeakers is not an essential part of any religion, the Bombay High Court said on Thursday, directing the law enforcement agencies to take prompt action against loudspeakers that violate the noise pollution norms and rules.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and S C Chandak said noise was a major health hazard and no one can claim that their rights are affected in any manner if he or she is denied permission to use loudspeakers.

The HC asked the state government to direct religious institutions to adopt mechanisms for controlling noise levels, including calibrated sound systems with auto-decibel limits.

The court passed its judgment on a petition filed by two housing associations from suburban Kurla – Jaago Nehru Nagar Residents Welfare Association and Shivsrushti Co-operative Housing Societies Association Ltd – alleging police inaction against noise pollution caused by loudspeakers installed on masjids in the area.

The petitioners contended that the use of loudspeakers for religious purposes, including the recitation of ‘azaan’ (Islamic call to prayer) disturbed the peace and violated the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, as well as provisions under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The bench in its order said Mumbai was a cosmopolitan city and obviously there are persons of different religions in every part of the city.

“It is in public interest that such permissions should not be granted. By denying such permissions, rights under Article 19 or 25 of the Constitution of India are not at all infringed. Use of loudspeakers is not an essential part of any religion,” the HC said.

The court said it was the “bounden duty” of the state government and other authorities to enforce the law by adopting all the necessary measures, as may be prescribed by the provisions of law.

“In a democratic State, there cannot be a situation that, a person/group of persons/association of persons would say that, it will not follow or adhere to the law of the land and the law enforcers would be meek or silent spectators to it,” the judgment said.

It added that common citizens are “hapless and helpless victims of these obnoxious use of loudspeakers and/or amplifiers”.

The court said the police must act on complaints against loudspeakers violating the noise pollution rules without requiring identification of the complainant to avoid such complainants being targets or ill will and developing hatred.

“We direct the State to consider to direct all the concerned to have in-built mechanism to control decibel level in their loudspeakers/voice amplifiers/public address system or other sound emitting gadgets used by any religious place/structure/institution, irrespective of religion,” the bench ordered.

The State may also seriously consider to issue directions for calibration and/or auto-fixation of decibel limit of loudspeakers/voice amplifiers/public address system or other sound emitting gadgets used by any or all the religions in their respective places of prayers or worship, the HC said.

The court also directed the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to issue instructions to all police stations to take prompt action in case of any complaint against loudspeakers at religious places.

“We take a judicial note of the fact that, generally people/citizens do not complain about the things until it becomes intolerable and a nuisance,” the bench said.

Reminding the authorities that ambient noise levels must not exceed 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night in residential areas, the court added that cumulative noise from all sources must adhere to these limits.

“The law does not permit that, every individual loudspeaker will emit 55 or 45 decibels of noise aggregating to more than what is prescribed under the said Rules. That would amount to frustrating the intention of the Legislature,” the court said.

The court said the police may also withdraw permissions granted to the said trusts/institutions for the use of loudspeakers, if repeated violation of the provisions of the said Noise Pollution Rules are brought to their notice.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former IAS Trainee officer Puja Khedkar, who made headlines last year over claims that she lied about disabilities, changed her surname and forged a backward class certificate to clear the civil services exam, has approached the Supreme Court against a Delhi High Court order denying her anticipatory bail. 

In strong comments while turning down her petition in December, the High Court had said the charges against her, which include forgery and cheating, are a “classic example of fraud committed not only against an authority but also the nation at large”.

The court said her intentions seemed to be to dupe authorities and that “her steps (were) part of a larger conspiracy”. Ms Khedkar, it observed, is “unfit for appointment”.

“Conduct of the petitioner was purely driven with a motive to dupe the complainant UPSC, or the Union Public Service Commission, and all documents allegedly forged by her were done to reap benefits of schemes meant for (disadvantaged) groups of the society,” the bench said. 

In her petition before the Supreme Court, Ms Khedkar called the high court order “erroneous”. A bench is likely to hear the matter on Wednesday. 

UPSC has said that Ms Khedkar had attempted the civil services exam more than the six times permitted for a general category candidate by changing her and her parents’ names, making the violation harder to detect. 

Before the High Court, Puja Khedkar used her claim of physical disability – she has a Maharashtra hospital certificate diagnosing her with an “old ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear with left knee instability” – and said only attempts in the ‘divyang’ category should be counted.

She also claimed only her middle name had been altered. “UPSC verified my identity through biometric data… did not find my documents fake or incorrect,” she argued. 

In July, the UPSC revoked Ms Khedkar’s selection as a junior government officer and barred her from appearing for the civil services exam in the future. 

Two months later, the Union government sacked Ms Khedkar. The former IAS officer has denied all charges against her and claimed she is being targeted since she made a sexual harassment charge against her senior.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned whether a woman with intellectual disability has no right to become a mother.

A division bench of Justices R V Ghuge and Rajesh Patil was hearing a petition filed by a 27-year-old woman’s father, seeking permission for medical termination of her 21-week pregnancy on the ground that she was of a mentally unsound mind and unmarried.

The man in his plea submitted that his daughter wanted to continue the pregnancy.

The bench had last week directed that the woman be examined by a medical board at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

As per the report submitted by the medical board on Wednesday, the woman is not mentally unsound or ill, but was diagnosed with borderline intellectual disability with an IQ of 75 per cent.

The bench noted that the woman’s parents had not made her go through any psychological counselling or treatment, but only kept her on medication since 2011.

The medical board’s report said there were no abnormalities or anomalies in the foetus and the woman was medically fit for continuation of the pregnancy.

The report, however, also said that termination of the pregnancy could be done.

Additional government pleader Prachi Tatke submitted to the court that consent of the pregnant woman is of paramount importance in such matters.

The bench took note of the fact that the medical board report has clearly stated the woman is not mentally disabled or of an unsound mind.

“The observation (in the report) is that she has below average intelligence. Nobody can be super intelligent. We are all human beings and everybody has different levels of intelligence,” the court said.

“Just because she has below average intelligence, does she have no right to be a mother? If we say that persons with below average intelligence do not have the right to be parents, it would be against the law,” the HC said.

As per provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, a pregnancy beyond the 20-week gestation period is allowed in cases where the woman is mentally ill, it said.

“Borderline case cannot be said to be a mental disorder. She (the pregnant woman in the present case) has not been declared as mentally ill. It is only a borderline case of intellectual functioning,” the bench said.

The advocate of the petitioner informed the HC that the woman has now disclosed to her parents the identity of the man with whom she is in a relationship and who was responsible for the pregnancy.

The court then asked the woman’s parents to meet the man and interact with him to see if he was willing to marry her.

“As parents, take the initiative and talk to the man. They are both adults. It is not an offence,” the court said.

The parents adopted the woman when she was five-month-old infant, and must now do their duty as parents, it said.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on January 13.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court has acquitted a man in a POCSO case, saying the use of the phrase “physical relations” by the minor survivor cannot automatically mean sexual assault.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma allowed the appeal by the accused, who was given imprisonment for the rest of his life, and observed that it was unclear how the trial court concluded that there was any sexual assault when the survivor had voluntarily gone with the accused.

The court asserted that the leap from physical relations or “samband” to sexual assault and then to penetrative sexual assault must be established by evidence and cannot be deduced as an inference.

“The mere fact that the survivor is below 18 years cannot lead to a conclusion that there was penetrative sexual assault. The survivor, in fact, used the phrase ‘physical relations’, but there is no clarity as to what she meant by using the said phrase,” the court said in the judgment passed on December 23.

“Even the use of the words ‘samband banaya’ is not sufficient to establish an offence under Section 3 of the POCSO Act or under Section 376 IPC. Though consent would not matter if the girl is a minor under the POCSO Act, the phrase ‘physical relations’ cannot be converted automatically into sexual intercourse let alone sexual assault,” it held.

The court said the benefit of doubt ought to be in favour of the accused and, therefore, ruled, “The impugned judgement completely lacks any reasoning and also does not reveal or support any rationale for the conviction. Under such circumstances, the judgment is liable to be set aside. The appellant is acquitted”. 

The complaint in this case was lodged in March 2017 by the minor girl’s mother, alleging that her 14-year-old daughter had been lured and kidnapped from her home by an unknown person.

The minor was found in Faridabad along with the accused, who was arrested and subsequently convicted for offence of rape under IPC and penetrative sexual assault under POCSO in December 2023 and later awarded imprisonment for the remainder of his life. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Jabalpur:

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state government to dispose of the toxic waste lying at the now-defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, and said even 40 years after the gas disaster, the authorities are in a “state of inertia” that may cause “another tragedy”.

Describing it as a “sorry state of affairs”, the high court asked the government to remove and transport the hazardous waste from the site within four weeks, failing which it will have to face contempt proceedings.

Highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide factory during the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, eventually killing 5,479 people and maiming more than five lakh others.

In a strongly-worded order passed on Tuesday, a division bench comprising HC Chief Justice SK Kait and Justice Vivek Jain said, “We fail to understand that in spite of issuance of various directions from time to time by the Hon’ble Supreme Court as well as by this Court, pursuant to the plan dated 23.03.2024, till date no steps seem to have been taken to remove to the toxic waste and material.”

“This is a really sorry state of affairs because the removal of toxic waste from plant site, decommissioning the MIC and Sevin plants and removal of contaminants that have spread in the surrounding soil and groundwater, are of paramount requirement for safety of general public of Bhopal city,” it said.

Incidentally, the MIC gas disaster at Bhopal took place on this very date (December 2), exactly 40 years ago, it said.

“They are still in a state of inertia despite 40 years from the date of the gas tragedy. Though the plan has been sanctioned, a contract has been awarded, but still the authorities are in inertia that may lead to another tragedy to take shape before acting further,” the division bench observed.

The court asked the authorities to undertake all safety measures during the transportation and disposal of the toxic waste/material.

The toxic waste/material should be sent to the place assigned within four weeks, failing which the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary and the principal secretary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department should personally remain present (before the court) to explain as to why various orders passed by this court have not been complied with, it added.

It asked the principal secretary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department to perform the statutory obligations and duties under the environmental laws of this country.

“We further direct immediate clean-up of the Union Carbide factory site at Bhopal and to take all remedial measures for removal and safe disposal of the entire toxic waste/material from the area concerned,” the bench said.

“It is not in dispute that the contract for this purpose is dated 23rd September, 2021. The money has already been paid on 04.03.2024. The plan produced by the Counsel for State Government is dated 20.03.2024. As per the said plan, the minimum period has been shown as 185 days and maximum 377 days,” the bench said.

The cost to implement the directions shall be borne by the state and the central government as already directed by this court, it said in the order.

“The learned counsel appearing for the Central Government submits that they have already paid their share to the State Government, however, the State Government has not spent that amount. Whereas the learned Additional Advocate General appearing for State submits that they have already received Rs 126 crore and contract awarded and the contractor has already been paid 20% of the aforesaid amount. However, till date the contractor concerned has not taken any steps,” the bench said.

The high court then directed the respondents, the state government and the authorities concerned to sit together, and said if any permission or any formality is required, the same is to be granted within one week.

If any of the departments fails to comply with the order passed by the court, the principal secretary of the department shall be prosecuted under the Contempt of Courts Act, the order read.

“If any of the authorities creates any hurdle or impediment regarding compliance of the orders of this Court, the Chief Secretary of the State Government of MP shall indicate on the next date of hearing so that this Court may take strict action against the said authority”, the court said.

The high court bench then ordered that the compliance report be supported with the personal affidavit of the principal secretary, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department.

“The said report shall contain each day’s progress starting from tomorrow onwards”, the bench observed.

The court then listed the matter for hearing on January 6, 2025.