Chandigarh Police arrest people for noise pollution under Punjab Act

The first three cases, under this section, were registered at Sector 19 police station, Sector 3 PS and Sector 36 PS. SSP (UT) Nilambri Vijay Jagdale said, “The main reason behind adopting Section 61 of the Punjab Police Act is it is a smooth way to prosecute a man in a court of law. The procedures, followed under the Noise Pollution Act, were lengthy and contains less punishment against the violator. We have issued the Section 61 notification under the Punjab Police Act also. SHOs of all the police stations were also instructed to implicate this provision.”

Section 61 of the PP Act says the senior superintendent of police of a district or any officer, not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police, may regulate the time and the volume, at which music and other sound systems are used in connection with any performance and other activities on or near streets or at any public place that can annoy residents of the neighbourhood. In Chandigarh, people are allowed to play music from 5 am to 10 pm in the prescribed volume. There are specific occasions, including Republic Day, Independence Day, New Year’s Eve and religious events, when music is allowed to be played beyond the prescribed time. In a similar move, which began last October, Chandigarh Police began charging people, caught drinking in public, under Section 68-1(B) of the Punjab Police Act, 2007, and Section 510 of IPC instead of arresting them under various sections of the Excise Act.