Does right to speech include right to silence?

The right to speech also implies the right to silence. It implies freedom, not to listen, and not to be forced to listen. The right comprehends the freedom to be free from what one desires to be free from. In Noise Pollution (V), In re, it was held that a loudspeaker forces a person to hear what he wishes not to hear. The use of a loudspeaker may be incidental to the exercise of this right but, its use is not a matter of right, or part of the rights guaranteed by Article 19 (1).


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