HC orders laughter out of the club

Laughter is the best medicine and helps one de-stress, they say. But did you ever think it could cause someone stress? It certainly has in this case.

Expressing surprise that a laughter club in Kurla has allegedly become a nuisance for the local residents, the Bombay high court on Monday said, “It is not proper to gather outside somebody’s house and laugh.”

A division bench of justice SA Bobde and justice MR Bhatkar has given the police a week to inform the court about the action they plan to take to restrain the club from becoming a problem for the residents.

The bench was hearing a plea filed by 78-year-old Vinayak Shirsat who has accused the club members of causing “mental agony, pain and (becoming a) public nuisance”.

According to the petition, the club Sheetal Jogging Association, a group of around 30, meets daily at Sheetal Talab in Kurla (West).

From 7am, around 10 to 15 members of the group gather and sing bhajans and clap loudly. “This is followed by loud and vigorous spells of laughter... They laugh at the top of their voices; every member encourages the others to laugh to their heart’s content,” stated the petition.

The petitioner has also claimed that his health is getting affected by the cacophony caused by the hysterical laughter, clapping, bhajans and shouts of encouragement.

During the previous hearing in this case, the high court had directed the senior inspector of Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station to immediately stop the nuisance. However, on Monday, the additional public prosecutor did not have instructions as to what action was taken, and accordingly, she sought time.