Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: November 8, 2022 at 19:37 IST
The Telangana High Court ruled that just 10 of the pubs in the larger Jubilee Hills region will be subject to the interim orders issued by the single judge in September after hearing an appeal contesting the decision banning the playing of music in all pubs after 10 PM.
On September 12, a single bench responded to petitions brought by a group of locals and the Jubilee Hills Residents (Clean and Green) Association against what they claimed was the State’s failure to act against pubs in residential areas by issuing a number of general directives to the police in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda.
Ten bars from the Jubilee Hills neighbourhood were arranged as parties in the cases.
On October 31, the division bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy issued an order in the appeal challenging the single bench’s directions, stating that the interim directions have affected other establishments against whom no grievance was made and who were not arrayed as parties to the proceedings.
The division bench transferred all the matters, including the writ petitions, to itself and stated, “That apart, we are of the opinion that the lawsuit as it stands today has par-taken the character of a public interest litigation and should therefore be considered by the competent Court.”
“In the meanwhile, the interim orders given 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 through 10 in Writ Petition No. 34601 of 2021,” the court continued.
Residents of the larger Jubilee Hills region claimed that the pubs were not abiding by environmental laws and regulations in one of the complaints made last year.
It was claimed that the activities of the pubs were severely burdening and upsetting the locals, especially because of the loud music played within the establishments and disorderly behaviour outside during the late hours of the night.
Senior citizens were particularly impacted, the locals informed the lone bench.
On September 12, a single judge issued an order directing the police commissioners in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda to immediately cease singing, dancing, and music playing in all bars without the proper authorization.
Additionally, the High Court’s single bench had mandated, among other things:
Pubs that have authorisation from the appropriate authority are not permitted to play music past 10 o’clock.
The single judge had cautioned that inaction “would be looked at seriously” and urged the cops to adhere to the rules religiously.
Hyderabad-based clubs have contested the ruling.
The division bench issued an order stating, “List the above two Writ Petitions together with the Writ Appeals before this Court on 24.11.2022.”