The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear the Maharashtra government’s plea for clarity on the conduct of the upcoming Dahi Handi festival, including on restricting the height of human pyramids to 20 feet.
A bench of Justices Anil R. Dave and L. Nageswara Rao also sought a response from Swati Sayaji Patil, a social worker who has filed a contempt petition before the Bombay High Court against the State government regarding the conduct of the festival in 2015. The court scheduled the case for hearing on August 17.
The bone of contention is an order passed by the Supreme Court on October 27, 2014, dismissing petitions challenging an August 11, 2014 Bombay High Court order directing the state government to declare Dahi Handi a “dangerous performance” under the Maharashtra Police Act, besides imposing other safety restrictions. The HC order had banned the participation of children below 12 years and restricted the height of human pyramids to 20 feet.
However, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the HC order days later. Subsequently, the apex court had on October 27, 2014 finally disposed of the case while observing that they were now “infructuous”. It had, at that point of time, not bothered to go into merits.
Trouble started when Ms. Patil, secretary, Utkarsh Mahila Samajik Sanstha, contended before the HC that the conduct of the Dahi Handi festival in 2015 had not complied with the high court’s restrictions imposed in its August 11, 2014 order.
In a recent hearing, the HC had sought clarity on whether its August 11 order is still valid. It wanted to know whether the apex court’s interim order suspending its restrictions was only for the 2014. If so, that would mean the August 11 order is back in force from 2015 onwards. The confusion is compounded by the fact that the apex court had not deemed it necessary to go into the merits of the petitions in its final order on October 27, 2014.
The Dahi Handi ceremony is annually held on Janmasthami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. The festival sees stiff competition and heavy wagers. Young children without safety harnesses are often employed to climb the human pyramid, which can go up to 40 feet in height. Accidents, often fatal, had led to the Child Rights Commission framing safety guidelines in February 2014.
