The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by lawyer Danish Farooqui who challenged “blanket verbal directions” issued by police in Hooghly and other districts to various places of worship, including mosques and temples, to remove loudspeakers installed on their premises.
“The Respondent police officials, without any written order, notification, or legal sanction, and without conducting any exercise to measure the decibel levels of the sound emanating from these loudspeakers to ascertain any violation of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, are coercing the management of these religious institutions to comply with their unlawful diktats,” the plea said.
Farooqui argued that ‘azaan’ (the call to prayer) is an integral and essential part of the Islamic faith, protected under Article 25 of the Constitution of India and such blanket ban is a direct infringement of this fundamental right.