Allahabad High Court Protects Five-Time Azan at Saharanpur Mosque, Sets Loudspeaker Conditions

PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad High Court has cleared the way for five-time Azan at Ayesha Mosque in Saharanpur while making it clear that any use of loudspeakers must remain within the limits prescribed by law.

The order means the Saharanpur police and district administration cannot prevent the petitioners from offering Azan five times a day if they first give a formal undertaking to follow the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, as well as the court’s earlier ruling governing loudspeakers during Azan.

A division bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Garima Prashad issued the directions while disposing of a petition filed by Shanawaz Khan and five other Saharanpur residents.

The dispute before the court was not over the performance of Azan itself. The state told the bench that the petitioners were free to recite Azan. The issue concerned the conditions under which an amplification device could be used.

Court links permission to compliance

The petitioners had approached the High Court after alleging that authorities were preventing them from using loudspeakers for Azan despite judicial decisions dealing with the subject.

During the proceedings, the state maintained that there was no prohibition on Azan. Its objection was limited to the operation of loudspeakers, which, it said, must comply with statutory noise limits and restrictions on their use.

The petitioners subsequently assured the court that they would respect those requirements. They agreed to regulate the use of amplification equipment in accordance with both the applicable noise-control regulations and the court’s previous directions.

The bench consequently required the petitioners to submit an application supported by a notarised affidavit. The affidavit must carry their undertaking that they will abide by the Noise Pollution Rules and the directions laid down in the earlier case.

Once that formal undertaking is submitted, the police and district administration have been directed not to obstruct the petitioners from performing Azan five times at the mosque.

2020 ruling remains the governing framework

The court’s latest order draws heavily on its 2020 judgment in Afzal Ansari and two others v. State of UP and two others, which dealt specifically with the use of sound amplification during Azan.

That judgment drew a distinction between Azan itself and the use of electronic equipment to broadcast it.

While the court recognised the religious significance of Azan, it held that amplifying the call through loudspeakers or similar devices could not automatically be treated as an essential part of the religion.

The earlier ruling also made clear that the operation of sound-amplifying equipment is subject to constitutional considerations relating to public order, health and other applicable restrictions.

One of the important restrictions concerned nighttime use. The 2020 judgment held that district authorities could not permit sound-amplifying devices to operate between 10 pm and 6 am.

It further stated that loudspeakers cannot be used without the required permission and that applications for their use must be considered under the law, including the noise pollution regulations.

At the same time, the judgment recognised that a muezzin could deliver Azan from a mosque’s minaret using the human voice without an amplification device.

Authorities retain power to act if undertaking is breached

The latest order does not give the petitioners an unrestricted right to operate loudspeakers.

Instead, the protection granted by the High Court is tied directly to their written undertaking. The district administration and police have been instructed to ensure that the conditions contained in the affidavit are observed.

If the petitioners breach their undertaking or violate the applicable rules, authorities are free to take action in accordance with law.

The order, dated October 1, therefore balances the right to perform Azan with restrictions governing amplified sound. It does not remove the statutory controls on loudspeakers, nor does it permit their unrestricted use.

For the petitioners, the ruling provides judicial protection against interference with the five daily calls to prayer, provided the conditions laid down by the court and the noise-control framework are followed.