Telangana High Court Lifts Ban On Playing Of Music In Pubs After 10 PM, Restricts Single Judge's Order To Pubs Of Jubilee Hills

Hearing an appeal challenging a single bench's decision banning the playing of music in all pubs after 10 PM, the Telangana High Court has said the interim directions passed by the single judge in September will apply only to 10 pubs in the greater Jubilee Hills area against which complaints were made by residents.

The single bench on September 12 had issued a slew of general directions to the police in Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda in petitions filed by a group of locals and the Jubilee Hills Residents (Clean and Green) Association against alleged inaction of State authorities in not taking action against pubs in residential areas. A total of 10 pubs of the Jubilee Hills area were arrayed as parties in the cases.

In an order in the appeal challenging the single bench's directions, the division bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy on October 31 said the interim directions have gone beyond the grievance expressed by the writ petitioners and also have affected other establishments against whom no grievance was made and who were not arrayed as parties to the proceedings.

"That apart, we are of the view that the litigation as it stands today has par-taken the character of a public interest litigation and should therefore be heard by the appropriate Court," said the division bench, while transferring all the cases including the writ petitions to itself.

The court added: "In the meanwhile, the interim directions issued by the learned Single Judge on 12.09.2022 shall be confined only to respondent No.5 in Writ Petition No.26788 of 2021 and respondent Nos.2 to 10 in Writ Petition No.34601 of 2021."

In one of the complaints filed last year, the residents of the greater Jubilee Hills area had said that the pubs were not following environmental rules and regulations. It was complained that the activities of the pubs was causing great hardship and annoyance to the residents, more particularly because of loud music inside the establishments and unruly behaviour outside them in the late hours of night. "Senior citizens were particularly affected," the single bench was told by the residents.

On September 12, the single judge ordered the Commissioners of Police, Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda to forthwith stop the singing and dancing, playing music in all the pubs that have not obtained permission from the competent authority.

Further, the single bench of the High Court, among other things, had directed that:

"The pubs which have obtained permissions from the competent authority shall not be allowed to play music after 10 PM."

The single judge had asked the police to follow the guidelines scrupulously and warned that inaction "will be viewed seriously".

The order has been challenged by clubs located in Hyderabad.

"List the above two Writ Petitions along with the Writ Appeals before this Court on 24.11.2022," said the division bench in its order.