Loud music at night? Call cops, and don’t step out

Police offer a word of advice in the wake of an incident that cost a 54-year-old his life

If you find neighbours playing loud music in the dead of night, don’t venture out, but call 112 for help, police say.

Earlier this week, Lloyd Nehemiah died of injuries when his neighbours rained blows on him. The three software engineers beat him up for objecting to the loud music they were playing late at night on April 2.

In a police complaint, Lloyd had accused them of assaulting him and his family outside their home in Vignana Nagar. He had asked them to lower the volume as his mother was unwell.

“Beyond 10 pm, no one is allowed to use public address systems, and any music being played needs to be below the prescribed decibel level of the locality. If you notice this isn’t being followed, you should call 112. No need to go and interrupt whoever is playing music; the police will do that,” says Pratap Reddy, city police commissioner.

The sound levels are monitored by policemen on duty, and they use decibel meters. “If you have people driving through your neighbourhood playing loud music in the middle of the night, or if they are parked outside your property blaring music, you should call the police,” he says.

Sound menace

In neighbourhoods like Indiranagar, J P Nagar and Koramangala, the main streets are lined with pubs, bars and restaurants.

“After they close, we often find people sitting on the pavements and jamming. Some people have their own instruments,” says Sneha Nandihal, Indiranagar resident and president of iChange. She calls the police if the music doesn’t stop.

“We have seen plenty of fights break out. It’s scary to step out at night and ask people to leave,” says a J P Nagar resident.

Neerja Shetty, president of the Koramangala 6th block Residents’ Welfare Association, shares the concern. “On 80 Ft Road, every weekend, events on the terraces of restaurants go on late into the night. Also, there are also lots of PGs in this locality, and people are always loitering outside, playing music and sometimes even getting into brawls,” she says.

Nitin Seshadri, resident of Koramangala, says, “We have a WhatsApp group where people share updates about what is happening, so everyone is aware in case any help is needed. But before informing the group, the rule is to inform the police. Plus, incase of a fight, we request the police to do a longer patrol,” he says.

Law says 45 dB is the limit

A government circular issued in 2022 says noise levels in residential areas should not exceed 45 decibels at night (between 10 pm and 6 am).

“That is equivalent to the noise an air conditioner makes. So even music playing on a phone with high volume violates this rule,” says Sneha Nandihal, president of iChange.

Advocate K M Sai Apabharana explains the notice: “It imposes restrictions on the use of loudspeakers and sound producing instruments. It also specifies that the peripheral noise level of a privately owned sound system or a sound producing instrument should not, at the boundary of the private place, exceed 5dB, or the ambient noise standards specified for the area.” The standards vary on whether an area is commercial or residential.

“As per section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, if anyone fails to comply with the rules, they can be punished with imprisonment for up to five years, with a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh, or both,” says Apabharana.

What happened

April 2: Lloyd Nehemiah, 54, brother of Col David Nehemiah, was disturbed by neighbours, who continued to play loud music till 4 am. He told them the sound was disturbing his ailing mother. The neighbours, Ram Samant Rai, Basudev Samant Rai and Abhishek Singh, were livid, and battered him.

April 4: Nehemiah died of injuries sustained during the fracas.

Assailants not arrested

The police had opened an assault case against the techies who beat up Lloyd Nehemiah, but after his death, they say they will book the assailants for murder. Once the court gives permission to invoke Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, the suspects will be arrested for murder, police said. Lloyd’s brother Col David Nehemiah has said the police delayed their arrests, and let one of them fly to Delhi, DH reported on Thursday.