India: Gujarat High Court rejects petition to ban loudspeakers at mosques

The Indian online media platform, Muslim Mirror, reported that the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a ban on the use of loudspeakers for azaan or the Islamic call to prayer at mosques, terming the plea as “wholly misconceived.”

The petition, filed by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala, claimed that “noise pollution” caused by azaan when played through loudspeakers affects people’s, especially children’s health and causes inconvenience otherwise.

However, the high court noted that the claims in the petition had no scientific foundation. Azaan is conducted for a maximum of ten minutes at a time at different hours of the day, the court pointed out.