“Forget about sleeping, you can’t even lie down in peace with the loud music and noise when there is a function in your lane or neighbourhood,” said Gagan Maheshwari, 46, a resident of Rohini’s Prashant Vihar. “But that’s the kind of adjustment you have to make as a neighbour,” he added.
In 2022, Delhi Police received 46,815 noise pollution-related complaints out of which 40,091 were against DJ music at weddings and other events, as per the official data shared by a senior officer.
While most complaints were received on the police’s 100 and 112 emergency helplines, 2,286 calls were also received on the 24x7 dedicated helpline for noise pollution grievances 155271.
Another senior officer said that the maximum calls were received during the festival and the wedding season. “The number of calls increases in the evening and night,” he added. Many people living in Delhi have informal outdoor arrangements for gatherings. They erect tents down their lanes and may flout the no-loud-speakers-after-10 p.m. rule instituted in 2005.
Rashmi Mehta, 48, a resident of Green Park, said that there is a temple next to her house with frequent post-10 p.m. activity.
“People organise Devi jagrans or keertans with loud music,” she says, adding that when it’s a religious function, it’s difficult to say anything. “Last year, both my son and daughter had their Board exams so during one such event, I had to go the temple and request them to reduce the volume.” They reduced the volume only a little.
Legal provisions
Deputy Commissioner of Police (PRO) Suman Nalwa said, “Local police can take legal action under the provisions of the Delhi Police Act Sections 29, 32, and 113, and the Environment (Protection) Act Sections 5 and 15.” Ms. Nalwa also said that the organiser must seek permission from the district deputy commissioner of police (DCP) before getting the no-objection certificate from the traffic unit and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) or Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to organise a public function.
However, a Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) president from Malviya Nagar said that in most cases people don’t take the necessary permissions. “They just inform the local RWA so that we can make arrangements, such as opening alternate society gates or shifting cars parked in the lane to somewhere else,” she said. She added that on the off-chance that people did play music late at night, neighbours were “adjusting”.
Manoj Kumar, 52, a shopkeeper in north Delhi’s Kamla Nagar, said, “Why would anybody complain? If someone else has a function in their family today, you may also have one tomorrow.”
According to the Central Pollution Control Board standards, in residential areas, the legal noise limit during the day (between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.) is 55 decibels; for the night (between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.), it is 45 decibels.
Ravinder Singh, 47, who used to run a DJ company in Kalkaji, said that it was difficult to turn down the music because it would mean refusing drunk clients. “Drunk people force the DJ staff to keep playing even after the permitted time. They also get aggressive if we refuse to play or lower the volume.”
A tent house owner, Mohammad Suhail, 32, also said that at many functions, people tend to play music till 2-3 a.m. “What can we or the DJ do?” he added.
Another police officer, however, said that it is the DJ’s responsibility to stop the music in time. Violations — the use of loud speakers or public address systems after 10 p.m. — are punishable with a fine of ₹10,000 and seizure of equipment.
