SC comes to rescue of DJ operators in UP, stays effect of blanket ban order of HC

New Delhi, Nov 20: Coming to the rescue of Disk Jockeys who make their living by performing at marriage and birthday parties in Uttar Pradesh, the Supreme Court has stayed the blanket ban imposed on their operations by the Allahabad High Court.

Ahead of the upcoming marriage season, the top court has asked the authorities to grant permission to the DJ operators in accordance with law. The Allahabad High Court had on August 20, imposed a blanket ban on DJ services terming the noise generated by them as "unpleasant" and of "obnoxious level".

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Vineet Saran was told by advocate Dushyant Parashar, appearing for the petitioners, that due to the high court order these DJs are getting unemployed across the state. Parashar, who represented 13 members of the Bundelkhand Sound and DJ Association, said the DJ players used to make their living by offering their services during marriages, birthdays' and other ceremonies but due to the blanket ban, they are unable to take care of their families.

The bench noted that on October 14, the apex court while seeking reply from the state government had stayed the operation of direction for blanket ban issued by the High Court in the month of August. "Pending further consideration, we grant interim direction in same terms and direct that as and when any applications are preferred, the applications shall be considered by the concerned authorities; and if the same are otherwise in accordance with law, the permission may be granted despite the direction issued by the High Court," the bench said.

During the hearing, Parashar submitted that the direction for blanket ban on DJ operators was violative of Article 16 of the Constitution and after the High Court's order, they were not being granted permission by the authorities to offer their services. He said that the High Court had not passed the general direction pertaining to blanket ban on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) but on a writ petition filed by two persons raising sound pollution grievance in their particular residential area.

The bench said it would further hear the main matter on December 16. The High Court had passed a slew of direction on a writ petition filed by one Sushil Chandra Srivastava and others by taking into account the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 and the apex court's direction of 2005, which dealt with the implication of the noise pollution in day to day life of people.

Among various directions, the high court had directed authorities to set up a toll free number for the citizens to make the complaints with regard playing of loudspeaker, public address system, DJ or any musical instrument beyond the permissible limit of sound. It had said "under the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, no permission for DJ shall be granted by the authority for the reason that noise generated by DJ is unpleasant and obnoxious level. "Even if they are operated at the minimum level of the sound it is beyond permissible limits under the Schedule of the Rules, 2000.

A DJ is made up of several amplifiers and joint sound emitted by them is more than thousand dB (A). They are serious threat to human health particularly children, senior citizens and patients admitted in the hospitals,” the high court had said. The DJ operators were aggrieved by the blanket ban direction passed by the High Court and had approached the top court for relief.