NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an Allahabad High Court order that had restrained the use of a school playground in Uttar Pradesh’s Tundla for Ramlila celebrations.
"The festivities are allowed to continue, subject to the condition that no inconvenience is caused to the students and no obstruction is caused in their sports activities, " ordered a Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant.
The Bench, also comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N. Kotiswar Singh, noted the submission on behalf of the Ramlila Committee that Ramlila activities had been conducted at the ground for the past 100 years.
During the hearing, the apex court questioned the original petitioner as to what had suddenly prompted him to move the Allahabad Court, and why he had not approached it in advance but only after the celebrations had commenced.
“What happened suddenly that you went to the Court? Last 100 years, where were you? You are not the student, you are not the parent of the students, right? You are not the owner of the property. But still, you file a PIL. What prevented you from going to the Court in advance?” it asked.
Staying the impugned order of the Allahabad High Court, the Justice Kant-led Bench urged the Allahabad HC to resolve the issue by identifying an alternative site for the Ramlila celebrations, so that the school playground could be used exclusively by the students.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to urgently list the matter for hearing on September 25, after it was mentioned for urgent hearing. The special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Ramlila Committee contended that the Allahabad High Court passed an ex parte order without giving it an opportunity to be heard.
In its interim order passed on Monday, a Bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra of the Allahabad High Court, while hearing a PIL alleging misuse of a school playground, had observed serious irregularities in the manner the event was being allowed inside a government school.
The Allahabad High Court noted submissions that the entire playground had been covered with cement interlocking tiles to permanently convert it into a venue for such events, thereby depriving school children of a space to play.