In a landmark judgment that will help curb the menace of excessive noise and visibility pollution on the streets of Jharkhand, the Jharkhand High Court has ordered a blanket ban on fitting and use of pressure horns, multi-tone sounding horns, unauthorized flag rods and emergency types of lights on vehicles statewide. The law enforcement authorities and state government have also been ordered by the court to institute urgent measures to allow absolute adherence to the order.
The directives have been issued by the division bench, which is headed by Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, that was hearing a case involving environmental and safety concerns of the masses, especially the noise pollution caused by large commercial vehicles and those altered privately owned vehicles. The bench noted that pressure horns are not only a nuisance to the community but also a health hazard to the old man, children and hospitalized patients. The court stated that there was a severe necessity to control noise pollution in urban and semi-urban regions of the state.
It is not only the horns that are in order. It has an absolute rule that the unofficial use of unauthorized flag rods should be avoided at all costs, and usually set on cars in any random way with no formal right to do so. According to the court, the excessive use of flags and symbols in the physical vehicles causes violations on the road and can be abused in the propagation of political or religious identity. The usage of such unauthorized signs, the court said, would add to the culture of impunity on the roads.
Besides this, the High Court prohibited the use of red, blue or multi-coloured lights which look like those of emergency services. It made it clear that such lighting systems can only be used by vehicles that are officially categorized as emergency response vehicles, and these include ambulances, fire brigades, and police patrol vehicles. The court ordered that all the unauthorized users should get rid of these lights immediately.
The court has directed the Director General of Police (DGP) and the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board to carry out checks, state-wise and report back on the compliance within the next hearing on August 11, 2025. District police have all been requested to carry out regular checks, particularly on highways, highly congested road crossings, as well as around hospitals and schools, due to the dire effects in case of noise pollution.
The court has also affirmed the already existing regulations in terms of the use of loudspeakers, which provided that no one uses the loudspeakers after 10 PM and before 6 AM unless they are granted sanction. Police have been advised to keep track of crowd activities, spiritual activities, as well as political events, to ensure that there are no cases of excessive noise.
The judgement is being termed as a bold move towards the safety of the population, the upholding of the roads and the healthy condition of the environment. The order has been met with approval by citizens, particularly those in areas with heavy traffic, and they have called on the authorities to enforce the order without favour. Conversely, certain transport union bodies have criticized an out-of-control implementation and have requested a small duration of grace period for automobile owners that may alter the required changes.
This landmark ruling of the Jharkhand High Court is a demonstration of its determination to fight one of the most widespread but least taken care of social problems on Indian roads- noise pollution. The success of the implementation of the order will be known in the following weeks, on the ground.
