Judicial View, on Silence and Sleep

• It is a necessity and not a luxury; It is essential for optimal health and happiness as it directly affects the quality of the life of an individual when awake inducing his mental sharpness, emotional balance, creativity and vitality;
• Sleep is, therefore, a biological and essential ingredient of the basic necessities of life;
• If this sleep is disturbed, the mind gets disoriented and it disrupts the health cycle;
• If this disruption is brought about in odd hours preventing an individual from getting normal sleep, it also causes energy disbalance, indigestion and also affects cardiovascular health;
• These symptoms, therefore, make sleep so essential that its deprivation would result in mental and physical torture both;
• It is a medicine for weariness which if impeded would lead to disastrous results;
• If a person is deprived of sleep, the effect thereof, is treated to be torturous;
• It becomes a violation of a fundamental right when it is disturbed intentionally, unlawfully and for no justification;
• To arouse a person suddenly, brings about a feeling of shock and benumbness;
• The pressure of a sudden awakening results in almost a void of sensation;
• Sleep is therefore, both, life and inherent liberty which cannot be taken away by any unscrupulous action;
• An individual is entitled to sleep as comfortably and as freely as he breathes;
• “Whether a sound is sweet or not is a matter which cannot be decided by the Court; After all sound is sound whether it is sweet or sour and whether people likes it or not. There are people who are a habit of listening in louder voice, but it is not the habit of all citizen;
• It was held that noise also adversely effects behaviour, increasing anxiety and reducing the incidence of helpful behaviour. Levels of aggression are increased by loud noise, an effect which may persist outside the noisy environment;
• Interference with rest or sleep and the rector associated with it -- lack of concentration, irritability reduced efficiency -- is one of the most obvious and annoying effects of noise;
• Sleep is a physiological necessity and therefore, health may be adversely affected by insufficient sleep;
• The Learned author as also proceeded to state that noise causes loss of sleep, annoyance, nervous tension, heart disease, migraine and gastro-intestinal disorders; Sometimes it leads to serious law and order problem; Further, in an organized society, rights are related with duties towards others including neighbours";
• Every citizen is entitled under Article 21 of the Constitution to live in a decent environment and has the right to sleep peacefully at night;
• No citizen can be compelled to suffer annoying effects of noise as that eventually leads to many a malady which includes cardio vascular disturbance, digestive disorders and neuro psychiatric disturbance;
• "None can claim an absolute right to suspend other rights or it can disturb other basic human rights and fundamental rights to sleep and leisure …

The following observations have been made in the following judgments:-

• ##Ramlila Maidan Incident Dt ... vs Home Secretary And Ors on 23 February, 2012;
• ##Moulana Mufti Syed Md. Noorur Rehman ... vs State Of West Bengal And Ors. on 4 March, 1998;
• ##Sayeed Maqsood Ali Versus State of M.P. and Others on 19th March, 2001.