KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has rekindled a 16-year-old dancer’s dreams after a 32-second power cut ruined her performance at district kalolsavam, holding that the interruption — entirely beyond her control — may have affected the outcome of the competition.
Observing that the student was denied a second opportunity to perform despite the disruption, the court ruled that she must be allowed to participate in the school kalolsavam being held at Thrissur, even though she had finished fifth in the district level.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by Malavika A S, a participant in the ‘Kuchuppudi’ (Girls) HSS general category event at the Thiruvananthapuram District School Kalolsavam 2025-26. Malavika, who was placed fifth in the competition, pointed out that the power failure had adversely affected her. Aggrieved by the evaluation, she preferred an appeal. However, it was rejected on the ground that the interruption did not affect her performance.
The petitioner contended that there was no fair evaluation of the event, as she was not granted a second chance to perform after the power supply was restored.
The court observed that it was evident that a power failure occurred while the petitioner was performing without music or lighting and she was admittedly not given a second opportunity to perform. It noted that despite her continuing the performance, the power failure could have resulted in a loss of confidence, thereby affecting her performance and placing her at an unequal position vis-a-vis the other participants.
Considering the facts, the court permitted the student to participate in ‘Kuchuppudi’ (Girls) HSS general category in the state kalolsavam.