The direction comes in the wake of a petition filed by Ashwin Jajal, who stays near Girgaum Chowpatty. He moved the court seeking prohibition on display of illuminated advertisements in residential zones after being troubled by the neonlights used in two ad boards near his flat.

The petitioner, who was represented by advocates J J Bhatt, Anjali Chandurkar Nitya and Sunil Mehta, referred to the report by International Institute for Sustainable Future which has stated that neonlights cause psychological disorders and other illnesses like insomnia, tiredness and irritation. After considering the report, the court directed the BMC to initiate ban on display of such ads after 11 pm.

The BMC counsel informed the court that the state government had alsoconstituted a committee of experts to study the effects of neonlights on human body. The committee found that the neonlights can cause harm due to `chemical signals' they released. Besides posing danger to the eyes, these lights affect sleep and consumption of food.

The experts' panel has recommended restriction on the level of illumination in the ad boards and suggested a complete ban on such lights in residential zones and switching them off in all areas after midnight.

The counsel for the ad agencies, however, argued that a ban on neonlights would amount to denial of right to advertise and also right to free trade. The court, however, did not agree with this contention since the nuisance value of the lights cannot be disregarded, the bench stated. The court has advocated reasonable regulation of such advertisements, which includes a complete ban on neonlight hoardings in residential areas.

Earlier, Express Newsline had reported on traffic police studying the link between the proliferation ofhoardings, especially the new breed of snazzy backlit vinyl types, and road accidents. Traffic rules do not permit any distractions to a driver's eye in the `zone of acute vision', a three degree cone from the eye to 50 metres away.