NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted a “Ram Leela” event to be held at a school in Uttar Pradesh, while emphasising that school grounds cannot generally be used for religious festivities. The court granted the permission noting that the event has been organised at the same venue for over a century.“Although we don’t approve of holding religious festivities in school grounds, this Ram Leela has been going on for the past 100 years and festivities for this year began on September 14,” the bench said while staying an Allahabad High Court order on the matter, news agency PTI reported.The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N Kotiswar Singh, imposed conditions that the event must not cause inconvenience to students and should not obstruct their sports or other activities.The petitioner, Pradeep Singh Rana, was rebuked for filing the case only after the festivities had begun. The bench asked, “This Ram Leela has been going on for 100 years and you also accept this fact. Then what prevented you from moving the courts in advance and stopping the festivities? Neither you are a student nor you are a parent of the students. What interest do you have in stopping the festivities?”Rana replied that he approached the high court only after the school authorities began constructing a concrete wall, prompting him to seek a stay on the festivities. He had alleged that the school playground was being used for Ram Leela between 7 pm and 10 pm, preventing students from using the ground for recreational activities.The Supreme Court observed that the high court could have directed the district administration to explore alternative sites for the event, given its century-long history. It therefore directed the district administration to hold a proposal hearing with all stakeholders before issuing final directions.The bench suggested that the petitioner could become a party in proceedings before the high court. “We request the HC to accord a hearing not only to the petitioner, but other stakeholders as well, who also might be required to be heard before any final order is passed,” the court said.
