Freedom of Speech and Expression and Environment
Article 19(1) (a) guarantees every citizen a fundamental freedom of speech and expression. In India most of the environmental jurisprudence has developed by judicial activism. Most of the cases came before the Court as a result of public interest litigations (PILs) in which the people exercised their freedom of speech and expression some times by writing letters to the court or otherwise by filing petitions before it, highlighting the violation of the rights of the people to live in healthy environment in one way or the other. Freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a) also includes freedom of press. In India the public opinion and media have played an important role in moulding the public perception of environmental issues. In Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) non governmental organizations and influential environmentalists within and outside the government and the role of the media compelled the government to abandon “the Silent Valley Project”. In this case legal battle played only a peripheral role.
Again in the Tehri Dam project, the public opinion and media compelled the government to make proper Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the proposed dam and consider all the aspects of safety of the project. The decision of the government to construct Tehri Dam was scrutinized by the Supreme Court in Tehri Virodhi Sangarsh Samiti v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1990)SC RSupl. (2) 606. in this case the main grievance of the petitioners was that safety aspect have not been taken into consideration by the government in the Tehri Dam Project. The Court on the perusal of the various recommendations of the committees and factual matrix came to the conclusion that the government has applied its mind and considered the relevant aspects of safety and finally dismissed the petition. In P.A.Jacob v .The Superintendent of Police, Kottayam AIR 1993 Ker 1 the Kerala High Court held that freedom of speech under Article 19 (1) (a) does not include freedom to use loudspeakers or sound amplifiers. Thus noise pollution caused by the loudspeakers can be controlled under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution.
In Moulana Syed Md. Noor ur Rehman Barkati v. State of West Bengal the Calcutta High Court observed that excessive noise is certainly pollution in the society. Under Article 19(1) (a) read with Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the citizens have a right of decent environment and they have a right to live peacefully, right to sleep at night and to have right to leisure which all are necessary ingredients of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. There are various other sources where the noise is created or generated but which offends citizen’s right guaranteed under Articles 19(1) (a) and 21 of the Constitution.
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