HC orders inspection of noise-emitting pubs in Indiranagar

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday ordered the BBMP and the KSPCB to jointly inspect a building in Indiranagar that houses a rooftop restaurant and other eateries. It sought a comprehensive report from the two agencies within three weeks.  

Justice Vineet Kothari passed the orders on a petition filed by Amit Agarwal, the owner of Tippler - On The Roof, who challenged the sealing of his restaurant by the civic body. The judge also directed the petitioner to resume his business.

According to the petitioner, the BBMP resealed the restaurant on December 20 on the basis of a notice issued on April 1, 2017, without issuing any fresh notice or intimation.

The counsel for the BBMP submitted that the restaurant had to be sealed because of noise pollution that was inconveniencing local residents. He produced a survey report in December 2017 that stated that the noise levels of the restaurant were 90 decibels while the prescribed limit was 61 decibels.

The petitioner's counsel submitted that they had made all the necessary arrangements to reduce the noise. He suggested that the noise pollution was actually caused by another restaurant located on a lower floor of the same building.

Hearing the arguments, Justice Kothari directed the BBMP and the KSPCB to conduct a joint survey of all the establishments in the building and submit a report within three weeks on the number of establishments, the noise pollution caused by them and other relevant information.

The matter will be heard again on January 17.