HC again seeks Gujarat reply to plea for banning loudspeaker use at mosques

The petition, moved by Gandhinagar-based doctor Dharmendra Prajapati, stated that in Sector 5C, where he resides, “persons of the Muslim community were coming for prayer at different times… and they use loudspeakers that cause great inconvenience and disturbance to nearby residents”.

The petitioner has cited an Allahabad High Court judgment that rejected a request to allow the Muslim call for prayer to be sounded with the help of amplifying devices in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district.

He also said that in June 2020 he submitted a written complaint in this regard to the Gandhinagar mamlatdar, who forwarded it to the Sector 7 police station but no action was taken.

According to the petitioner, the permissible level prescribed under noise pollution rules is 80 decibels. He stated that the use of loudspeakers for prayer calls encroached on his fundamental rights and sought a direction to the appropriate authority to ban the use of loudspeakers in mosques in the state.