NEW DELHI: Faith and long practice cannot claim a public park, observed the Delhi High Court on Friday, as it held that a public green area maintained for the benefit of all cannot be given for Chhath Puja merely because puja was being held there for years.
Justice Jasmeet Singh dismissed a plea seeking permission to organise Chhath Puja at Chintoo Park in Naraina Village on November 15 and 16. The HC observed that longstanding practice of organising Chhath Puja at a particular location can’t justify permitting the use of a public green area for the religious festivities.
“The fact that the applicant has been organising the Chhath Puja at the said location for several years, or that the present request is confined to a limited area and period, cannot, by itself, constitute a ground for permitting the use of a green area,” the HC noted.
The applicant, Lalit Anand, sought permission for Sandhya Arghya on November 15 evening and Usha Arghya on November 16 early morning over about 1,000 square metres at Chintoo Park. He submitted that the puja had been organised there for 23 years and undertook to restore the park after festivities.
Opposing the request, the DDA said that the park was being maintained as a green area, trees and flowers had been planted there, and permitting the event could adversely affect the park. The applicant cited ‘Chhath Puja 2026: Single Window Management, Central District’, listing Chintoo Park as a venue. It held it could not supersede its August directions.
While dismissing Anand’s plea, the HC said, “It is a settled position that an administrative decision of the Executive or any other body cannot nullify or dilute a judicial order.”
Despite NGT curbs, Calcutta HC allows Chhath Puja
The Calcutta High Court has allowed Chhath Puja celebrations at Sagardighi Ghat in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal on November 15 and 16, notwithstanding the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) restrictions on the use of non-biodegradable materials and immersion activities at the water body. Justice Krishna Rao passed the order.
