ROLE OF PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION IN

REDUCTION OF NOISE POLLUTION

Submitted to:
Mrs. Stuti Binay Nanda
(Faculty, Department of Environmental Law)
Submitted by:
Name- Rishabh Khedia
Class- Semester IV, BA LLB(Hons.)
Section- B, Roll No.- 130

Hidayatullah National Law University

Post Uparwara, Abhanpur, New Raipur-493661
(Chhattisgarh)
 Declaration

I, Rishabh Khedia, hereby declare that this project report entitled, ‘Role of Public Interest
Litigation in Reduction of Noise Pollution’ submitted to Hidayatullah National Law
University, Raipur is a record of an original work done by me under the guidance of Mrs. Stuti
Binay Nanda, Faculty member at H.N.L.U. Raipur and that no part of this work has been
plagiarized without citations.

Name- Rishabh Khedia

Roll No.-130

BA LLB(Hons.) Semester IV

Acknowledgements

First of all, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Mrs. Stuti Binay Nanda,
Faculty, Department of Environmental Law at H.N.L.U. for giving me the opportunity to prepare
this project on ‘Role of Public Interest Litigation in Reduction of Noise Pollution’. I would
like to thank her for her encouragement and guidance regarding several aspects of this project.

I am thankful to the library staff as well as the IT lab staff for all the conveniences they have
provided me with, which have played a major role in the completion of this project. I would like
to thank some of my seniors and friends for their advices, tips and suggestions.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank the Almighty for making me capable to complete this
project.

2
 Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study are:

1. To understand about the causes and effects of noise pollution.

2. To study about the various non-legislative and legislative measures of protection from noise
pollution in India.

3. To analyse the role of Public Interest Litigation in reduction of noise pollution in India.

Research Methodology

This project work has been carried out following the descriptive analytical approach.

This study is done with the help of secondary data. This secondary information has been
obtained from published sources such as books, journals, newspapers, official websites,
government publications etc.

3
 Chapter 1
Noise pollution: is defined as the unwanted sound which is released into the environment. It
disturbs the human being and causes an adverse effect on the mental and psychological well
being. It is measured in the units of decibels and is denoted by the dB. The noise which is more
than 115 dB is intolerant. Noise is a type of atmospheric pollution in the form of waves. It is a
shadowy public enemy. It has increased in the modern age of industrialization and technological
advancement. Noise pollution from a legal point of view may be defined as wrongful
contamination of the atmosphere to the material injury of the right of an individual. Noise
becomes pollution when the intensity and frequency of the sound is likely to affect the quality of
environment.

Causes:

1. Industrialization: Most of the industries use big machines which are capable of producing
large amount of noise. Apart from that, various equipments like compressors, generators, exhaust
fans, grinding mills also participate in producing big noise. Therefore, you must have seen
workers in these factories and industries wearing ear plugs to minimize the effect of noise.

2. Poor Urban Planning: In most of the developing countries, poor urban planning also play a
vital role. Congested houses, large families sharing small space, fight over parking, frequent
fights over basic amenities leads to noise pollution which may disrupt the environment of
society.

3. Social Events: Noise is at its peak in most of the social events. Whether it is marriage, parties,
pub, disc or place of worship, people normally flout rules set by the local administration and
create nuisance in the area. People play songs on full volume and dance till midnight which
makes the condition of people living nearby pretty worse. In markets, you can see people selling
clothes via making loud noise to attract the attention of people.

4. Transportation: Large number of vehicles on roads, aeroplanes flying over houses,

underground trains produce heavy noise and people get it difficult to get accustomed to that. The
high noise leads to a situation wherein a normal person lose the ability to hear properly.

4
5. Construction Activities: Under construction activities like mining, construction of bridges,
dams, buildings, stations, roads, flyovers take place in almost every part of the world. These
construction activities take place everyday as we need more buildings, bridges to accommodate
more people and to reduce traffic congestion. The down point is that these construction
equipments are too noisy.

6. Household Chores: We people are surrounded by gadgets and use them extensively in our
daily life. Gadgets like TV, mobile , mixer grinder, pressure cooker, vacuum cleaners , washing
machine and dryer, cooler, air conditioners are minor contributors to the amount of noise that is
produced but it affects the quality of life of your neighborhood in a bad way.

Effects of noise pollution-

(1) On environment:

Sound plays a key role in the ecosystem. The National Park Service indicates that the acoustical
environment affects wildlife in terms of its ability to find adequate habitat, avoid predators,
protect young, locate food and attract a mate. As noise pollution from human beings in the form
of motor vehicle and airplane traffic among other causes increases, wildlife is forced to adapt in
ways that are not sustainable. For example researchers discovered that the males of a particular
frog species began calling at a higher pitch in an effort to distinguish their calls from traffic
noise. However, the females of that species prefer a lower pitch, which means there is less
successful mating within the species in general.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines noise pollution as any sound that is disturbing or
unwanted. In human terms this usually includes sounds that disrupt sleep or conversation or
otherwise erode a person's quality of life. The same holds true for wildlife, only with far more
dire consequences.

5
Noise pollution affects the human mind and body negatively. The ill-effects of noise pollution
are many. It is the major cause for several ailments. The quality of human life gets disrupted. The
lives of the children, the aged or the ailing people become miserable.

(2) On humans and animals:

1. Hearing Problems: Any unwanted sound that our ears have not been built to filter can cause
problems within the body. Our ears can take in a certain range of sounds without getting
damaged. Man made noises such as jackhammers, horns, machinery, airplanes and even vehicles
can be too loud for our hearing range. Constant exposure to loud levels of noise can easily result
in the damage of our ear drums and loss of hearing. It also reduces our sensitivity to sounds that
our ears pick up unconsciously to regulate our body’s rhythm. A number of laboratory studies
have pointed out that human efficiency decreases with the increase of noise.1

2. Health Issues: Excessive noise pollution in working areas such as offices, construction sites,
bars and even in our homes can influence psychological health. Studies show that the occurrence
of aggressve behavior, disturbance of sleep, constant stress, fatigue and hypertension can be
linked to excessive noise levels. These in turn can cause more severe and chronic health issues
later in life.

3. Sleeping Disorders: Loud noise can certainly hamper your sleeping pattern and may lead to
irritation and uncomfortable situations. Without a good night sleep, it may lead to problems
related to fatigue and your performance may go down in office as well as at home. It is therefore
recommended to take a sound sleep to give your body proper rest.

4. Cardiovascular Issues: Blood pressure levels, cardio-vascular disease and stress related heart
problems are on the rise. Studies suggest that high intensity noise causes high blood pressure and
increases heart beat rate as it disrupts the normal blood flow. Bringing them to a manageable
level depends on our understanding noise pollution and how we tackle it.

5. Trouble Communicating: High decibel noise can put trouble and may not allow two people to
communicate freely. This may lead to misunderstanding and you may get difficult understanding

1
A study by Prof. Harish Ganguli of the efficiency of 8 weavers in a jute mill of Kolkata under two conditions of
noise- the normal and high noise of 100 dB, the reduction noise level of about 80 dB, reduction of noise level results
were positive.

6
the other person. Constant sharp noise can give you severe headache and disturb your emotional
balance.

6. Effect on Wildlife: Wildlife faces far more problems than humans because noise pollution
since they are more dependent on sound. Animals develop a better sense of hearing than us since
their survival depends on it. The ill effects of excessive noise begin at home. Pets react more
aggressively in households where there is constant noise. They become disoriented more easily
and face many behavioral problems. In nature, animals may suffer from hearing loss, which
makes them easy prey and leads to dwindling populations. Others become inefficient at hunting,
disturbing the balance of the eco-system. The high intensity of noise of sound affects not only
human health but also property, viz. causing cracks in buildings. 2 Birds too stop laying eggs and
breading and animals stop mating in the season.3

2
The cracks in the city of the RACOCO Church at Stem Hausan were cause by some booms.
3
Hollywood Silver Fox Farm Ltd. v. Emmett, (1936) 2 KB 468.

7
 Chapter 2

The management of noise pollution can be done in two ways-

2.1. Non- legislative or general measures:

(a) By reducing and controlling noise at its source point. For example- by regular repairs of
machinery. Also, noise-insulating and noise-absorbing roads and buildings should be
constructed. Railway tracks and highways should be away from residential areas.

(b) Plants are efficient absorbers of noise. Public awareness is a must.

(c) Strict check on industries and mining operations for noise control is essential while issuing of
and renewal of licenses. Intervals between blasting of rocks and explosion should be 17
milliseconds or more.

(d) Loudspeakers and amplifiers should be so manufactured that they do not produce more than
80 dB of noise. There should be a complete ban on the use of loudspeakers during 10 pm and 5
am.

(e) Railway tracks and highways should be away from residential areas.

2.2. Legislative measures: Legislative prevention and protection is essential for the
management of noise pollution.

(a) Law of Tort and Noise- In India, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and its Rules and
Schedules deal with noise pollution. Under the Law of Torts, no person has an absolute right to
make noise on his land to the detriment of another person’s comfort. Courts have declared in
unequivocal terms that the interference with the comfort of a person should be ‘substantial’. It is
not necessary to prove any injury to health. The MP High Court in Dhanna Lal v. Chittar Singh, 4
laid down the law relating to noise in very clear terms as follows-

4
AIR 1959 MP 240.

8
i. Constant noise, if abnormal or unusual, can be an actionable nuisance, if it interferes
with one’s physical comfort;

ii. The test of nuisance, personal discomfort is the actual local standard of comfort, and
not an ideal or absolute standard.

iii. General, unusual or abnormal noise on the defendant’s premises which disturbs the
sleep of the occupants of the plaintiff’s house during the night, or which is so loud
daytime that due to it one cannot hear ordinary conversation in the plaintiff’s house, or
which cannot allow the occupants of the plaintiff’s house to carry on their ordinary work,
is deemed to be noise which interferes with one’s physical comforts.

9
 Chapter 3

The Orissa High Court in Bijayananda Patra v. Distt. Magistrate, Cuttack 5 observed that since
‘the problem of noise pollution has already crossed the danger point and noise like a smog is
threatening as a slow agent of death some immediate measures are required to be taken.’

The Court suggested that to deal with this menacing noise pollution, separate courts to deal with
cases of noise pollution be established, and the Central Government and State Governments
should come out with adequate legislative measures to prevent this fast-growing menace and
‘permanent monitoring bodies’ should be appointed to make periodic review of the situation and
suggest remedial measures. This decision was pronounced before the notification of the Noise
Pollution Rules of 2000.6

In recent years, there has been a sustained focus on the role played by the higher judiciary in
devising and monitoring the implementation of measures for pollution control, conservation of
forests and wildlife protection. Many of these judicial interventions have been triggered by the
persistent incoherence in policy-making as well as the lack of capacity-building amongst the
executive agencies. Devices such as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) have been prominently
relied upon to tackle environmental problems, and this approach has its supporters as well as
critics.

The basic function of judiciary is to interpret the law and redress grievance within the limitation
of law enacted by the legislature. Where issues remain unresolved, the common man is forced to
take protection of courts. At times, the Courts are compelled to take up the issues, which they
have usually not resolved. Judiciary being a safeguard of constitutional and statutory rights of
citizen has a distinctive role to play in the constitutional system.

The power vested in the Supreme Court and High Court exercised under article 32 and 226 of the
Constitution for the enforcement of fundamental rights and it is the last resort of a citizen to

5
AIR 2000 Ori 70.
6
The case was decided on 17.09.1999 and the Rules were notified on 19.02.2000.

10
whom no other remedy to get his grievance redressed is available under any other law of the
land.

Noise pollution is a silent attacker which is directly and indirectly responsible for health hazards,
sickness and other ailments and loss of income due to reduced work. It has also added to the
sufferings of human beings. Environmental degradation arising from noise pollution and other
factors has become a major cause of worry for future generations. One should not experiment
with a system in a way that imposes unknown and potentially large risks on future generations.
The law pertaining to noise pollution in India which exists in disparate bits of legislations and the
judicial uncertainty prevailing in the arena has not only proved to be inadequate, but also
inefficacious to serve the purpose.

Hence, in the Indian socio- economic perspective, there is a clear need for a comprehensive
legislation to curb noise pollution. Regulations which mainly vest powers in the executive
authorities to check noise pollution is also proving ineffective for want of determination and
positive action on their part.

Need for environmental laws

Today we are living in nuclear arena. No one can overlook the harm caused to the environment
by the nuclear bombs, dropped by airplanes belonging to the United States on the Japanese urban
communities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki amid the last phases of World War II in 1945. Day to
day innovation and advancement of technology, apart from development additionally expands
the risk to human life. Accordingly, there arises an intense and an acute need of the law to keep
pace with the need of the society along with individuals. So now the question of environmental
protection is a matter of worldwide concern, it is not confined to any country or territory.

Judicial remedies for environment pollution

The remedies available in India for environmental protection comprise of tortuous as well as
statutory law remedies. The tortuous remedies available are trespass, nuisance, strict liability and
negligence. The statutory remedies incorporates: Citizen’s suit, e.g.,

• an activity brought under Section 19 of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986,

11
• an activity under area 133, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.and

• and activity brought under the Section 268 for open irritation, under Indian Penal
Code,1860

Apart from this, a writ petition can be filed under Article 32 in the Supreme Court of India or
under Article 226 in the High Court.

Tortious liability

The Indian judiciary has developed the following tortuous remedies:

Damage

In the recent case of Shriram Gas Leak, involving a leakage of Oleum gas which resulted in
substantial environmental harm to the citizens of Delhi, the Apex court held that the quantum of
damages awarded must be proportionate to the capacity and magnitude of the polluter to pay.
However, the Apex Court has deviated from this test in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy[vi].

Injunction

The purpose of injunction is to prevent continuous wrong. The grant of perpetual injunction is
governed by Sec.37 to 42 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963.

Nuisance

Nuisance means the act which creates hindrance to the enjoyment of the person in form of smell,
air, noise, etc.

According to Stephen, nuisance is anything done to hurt or annoyance of lands, tenements of

another and not amounting to trespass.

Nuisance can be divided into two categories:

Private Nuisance – It is a substantial and unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment
of one’s land.

Public Nuisance – It is an unreasonable interference with a general right of the public.

12
Trespass

It means intentional or negligent direct interference with personal or proprietary rights without
lawful excuses.

The two important requirements for trespass are:

1) There must be an intentional or negligent interference with personal or proprietary rights.

2) The interference with the personal or proprietary rights must be direct rather than
consequential.

Negligence

It connotes failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like
circumstances.

Strict Liability

The rule enunciated in Rylands v. Fletcher by Blackburn J. is that the person who for his own
purpose brings on his land and collects and keeps there anything likely to be a mischief, if it
escapes, must keep it as its peril, and if he does not do so is prima facie even though, he will be
answerable for all the damage which is the natural consequence of its escape. The doctrine of
strict liability has considerable utility in environmental pollution cases especially cases dealing
with the harm caused by the leakage of hazardous substances.

The Supreme Court in Church of God (Full Gospel) in India v. K.K.R. Majestic Colony
Welfare Assn., MANU/SC/0537/2000 held that the Court may issue directions in respect of
controlling noise pollution even if such noise was a direct result of and was connected with
religious activities. It was further held:-

"Undisputedly, no religion prescribes that prayers should be performed by disturbing the peace
of others nor does it preach that they should be through voice amplifiers or beating of drums. In
our view, in a civilized society in the name of religion, activities which disturb old or infirm
persons, students or children having their sleep in the early hours or during daytime or other
persons carrying on other activities cannot be permitted.”

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Judgment Directions.

Loudspeakers:

1. The noise level at the boundary of the public place, where loudspeaker or public address
system or any other noise source is being used shall not exceed 10 dB (A) above the ambient
noise standards for the area or 75 dB (A) whichever is lower.

2. No one shall beat a drum or tom-tom or blow a trumpet or beat or sound any instrument or use
any sound amplifier at night (between 10. 00 p.m. and 6.a.m.) except in public emergencies. 3.
The peripheral noise level of privately owned sound system shall not exceed by more than 5 dB
(A) than the ambient air quality standard specified for the area in which it is used, at the
boundary of the private place.

Fire Crackers

1. There shall be a complete ban on bursting sound emitting firecrackers between 10 pm and 6
am. It is not necessary to impose restrictions as to time on bursting of colour/light emitting
firecrackers.

The focus of this judgment was on noise pollution caused by Loudspeakers and Firecrackers. I
wish the Apex Court had extended the 10pm deadline to 11.30 pm for the Navaratri festival. In
spite of having got commercialized it continues to be colorful and enjoyable festival. Moreover
in Mumbai people living in the suburbs reach home after 8.30 pm so the 10 pm deadline will
limit the time for enjoyment of festival celebrations.

14
 Conclusion

Today we are living in nuclear arena. No one can overlook the harm caused to the environment
by the nuclear bombs, dropped by airplanes belonging to the United States on the Japanese urban
communities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki amid the last phases of World War II in 1945. Day to
day innovation and advancement of technology, apart from development additionally expands
the risk to human life. Accordingly, there arises an intense and an acute need of the law to keep
pace with the need of the society along with individuals. So now the question of environmental
protection is a matter of worldwide concern, it is not confined to any country or territory.

The basic function of judiciary is to interpret the law and redress grievance within the limitation
of law enacted by the legislature. Where issues remain unresolved, the common man is forced to
take protection of courts. At times, the Courts are compelled to take up the issues, which they
have usually not resolved. Judiciary being a safeguard of constitutional and statutory rights of
citizen has a distinctive role to play in the constitutional system.

The power vested in the Supreme Court and High Court exercised under article 32 and 226 of the
Constitution for the enforcement of fundamental rights and it is the last resort of a citizen to
whom no other remedy to get his grievance redressed is available under any other law of the
land.

In recent years, there has been a sustained focus on the role played by the higher judiciary in
devising and monitoring the implementation of measures for pollution control, conservation of
forests and wildlife protection. Many of these judicial interventions have been triggered by the
persistent incoherence in policy-making as well as the lack of capacity-building amongst the
executive agencies. Devices such as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) have been prominently
relied upon to tackle environmental problems, and this approach has its supporters as well as
critics.

15
 Bibliography

Books:

1. S.C. Shastri, Environmental Law, (3nd Edn.), Eastern Book Company, Lucknow, 2008.

2. S. Shantakumar, Introduction to Environmental Law, (2nd Edn.), Wadhwa & Company,

Nagpur, 2005.

3. P. Leelakrishnan, Environmental Law in India, (2nd Edn.), LexisNexis, New Delhi, 2005.

Online sources:

1. Atisha Sisodiya, The Role of Indian Judiciary in Protection of Environment in India,

Available at: http://www.lawctopus.com/academike/role-indian-judiciary-protection-
environment-india/

2. Deepak Miglani, Noise Pollution: Sources, Effects and Control, Available at:
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/noip.htm

3. eschooltoday.com

4. www.importantindia.com

5. www.conserve-energy-future.com

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