Loudspeakers Not Essential to Faith: Bombay HC Dismisses Gondia Mosque Plea

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that the use of loudspeakers or voice amplifiers forms no integral part of any religion and cannot be forced upon unwilling listeners, dismissing a petition filed by Masjid Gousiya in Gondia district seeking restoration of loudspeakers removed for violating noise norms.

Delivering the verdict on Monday, a division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Vrushali Joshi quoted landmark Supreme Court rulings: “No religion prescribes that prayers shall be performed by disturbing the peace of others through voice amplifiers or by beating of drums.”

The court noted that the petitioners could not produce a single religious text, fatwa, or scholarly opinion establishing loudspeakers as mandatory for Islamic worship, despite being specifically asked to do so at an earlier hearing on October 16.

The bench emphasised the citizen’s countervailing right: “While there is a right to speech, there exists a right to listen or decline to listen. Nobody can be compelled to listen, and nobody can claim a right to make his voice trespass into the minds of unwilling listeners.” It also highlighted the health hazards of noise pollution and the binding Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000.

The case is part of a wider statewide crackdown on unauthorised loudspeakers. In July 2025, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned of strict action against any religious institution reinstalling amplification devices without valid permission. The drive, which covered places of worship across communities, led to the removal of loudspeakers from 1,059 mosques, 48 temples, 10 churches, four gurudwaras, and 147 other religious establishments.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray publicly congratulated the government for taking decisive steps to curb noise pollution, underscoring that the measure was religion-neutral.

Dismissing the Gondia mosque’s plea, the court held that mosques have functioned for centuries without loudspeakers and that the azaan can be effectively delivered through the human voice or other non-intrusive means. The right to practise religion under Article 25 remains absolute, the bench clarified, but the use of modern amplification technology does not qualify as an “essential religious practice” protected by the Constitution.

The ruling reinforces a long line of Supreme Court decisions—from the 2005 noise pollution case to subsequent judgments—that have treated technological amplification as a convenience, not a religious mandate. Legal observers expect the Gondia order to become a key precedent in hundreds of similar petitions pending across Maharashtra involving temples, mosques, churches, and gurudwaras.

As India’s cities grow denser and decibel complaints rise, the Bombay High Court has drawn a firm constitutional line: the believer’s freedom of faith cannot override a neighbour’s fundamental right to peace and quiet.

Signpost NewsDesk

Signpost News is an Imphal-based media house that focuses on delivering news and views from Northeast India and beyond.