Man arrested for playing Noor Jahan's song on loudspeaker

Police have arrested a man in Kasur’s tehsil Pattoki for playing melody queen Noor Jahan’s song at a high volume.

The police said the man was arrested for listening to the song on a speaker in the area of Habibabad, while his amplifier and speaker have also been taken into police custody.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered under the section of the Loudspeaker Act. Meanwhile, a video of the man listening to songs has also surfaced.

Earlier, the Punjab government ordered strict enforcement of the Loudspeaker Act and the establishment of whistle-blower cells in every district to encourage reporting of suspicious activity.

Loudspeaker Act

Punjab's Loudspeaker Act, 2015, aims to prevent public and environmental nuisance and the voicing of utterances of a controversial nature likely to cause public disorder.

The law states: "It shall be unlawful for any person to use, or assist in using, permit or allow the use of a sound system which generates any loud, unnecessary or unusual noise or any noise which annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace, or safety of persons in or beyond the vicinity."

This Act or any other law prohibits a person from using a sound system that contravenes prescribed specifications.

Under the law, a person shall not operate or use a sound system in a public place, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or injury to persons in the vicinity, including near educational institutions, courts, hospitals not providing facilities for indoor patients, or any other public institution, office, or undertaking during their usual working hours, at a volume or in a manner whereby the working or use of the establishment is likely to be disturbed by the use of the sound system.