Question: I am living in an apartment with my family. I am disturbed by kids making loud noises when they play in the corridor of the apartment. There is no playtime for them, and they play till 10 pm sometimes. There is a play area in our apartment which has ample space for kids to play. However, some parents refuse to send the kids to play zone and make them play in the corridor. We have spoken the respective parents also, but they insist on playing in the passage. Could you please advise me if I can take any action by law.
Asked from: Maharashtra
Well, children are causing nuisance by making noise in the public area in late night. Nuisance or annoyance is of two kinds. One is public nuisance and another is private nuisance. The public nuisance is an offence because it affects the society at large. Hence, it is punishable under Section 290 of the Indian Penal Code.
A private nuisance is a civil wrong. Private nuisance affects some individuals as distinguished from the public at large and requires special damage to be actionable. Therefore, you have the option to initiate a civil proceeding for compensation and injunction against the nuisance.
File a civil suit against the nuisance
The private nuisance is a civil wrong. Therefore, you have the right to claim damages for the interference in your peaceful life. You should file a civil suit for the permanent injunction and damages for suffering nuisance in daily life.
The parents of children have been allowing them to play in the corridor. Parents are responsible to take proper care of child and maintain peace & tranquility in the public area. Hence, you should set liability against their parents.
How to file a civil suit
First of all you should send a legal notice to their parents and told them to “not allow your children to play in the corridor at the late night. If you don’t stop the nuisance then I’ll be bound to take legal action against you.”
If the nuisance persists even after the serving of legal notice then you should institute a civil suit. In the proposed civil suit you should seek ad interim relief i.e. to direct the defendants to not cause nuisance till the further order of the court. You should also claim compensation for mental agony.
It is the responsibility of every member of the society to maintain peace and don’t interfere in the peaceful enjoyment of others. If they infringe the rights of other, they shall be liable to compensate.
