The Madras High Court Bench here has begun directing litigants who seek permission for conducting cultural programmes and kabbadi tournaments to donate money ranging between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 to social service organisations as a pre-condition to pass favourable orders.
Disposing of a writ petition filed by an individual seeking permission to conduct cultural programmes in a government staff housing colony in Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district, Justice B. Rajendran directed the petitioner to donate Rs 5,000 to Amar Seva Sangam at Ayakudi in Tenkasi taluk.
The other conditions imposed by the judge state that the participants should not “shout or raise slogans for or against any party or party leader or caste, community and creed” and they should not wear dress printed with slogans or pictures offending any communal or political leader.
“Songs praising communal leaders or having communal overtones should not be played at the venue. The songs to be played shall be given well in advance to the police. If any song is objectionable, the police will be at liberty to stop such songs to be played in the orchestra events,” he added.
Further, ordering that no flex board or hoarding depicting a particular community or leader should be displayed at the venue, the judge said that the organisers should also file an affidavit-undertaking that they would not perform “any dance in any form” during the event.
The conditions were imposed after Additional Government Pleader (AGP) R. Karthikeyan stated that the cultural programmes could be permitted on condition that the organisers should not arrange for ‘Aadal Paadal’ programme considered to be a vulgar dance performance.
Passing similar orders in two other writ petitions seeking permission for kabbadi tournaments in Tirunelveli and Madurai districts, the judge directed the organisers to pay Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000 to Amar Seva Sangam and Indian Association for the Blind at Sundarrajanpatti near here respectively.
In these cases, he ordered that the referees for the kabbadi tournament should be engaged from among those recognised either by the district or State-level kabbadi associations and not from among local residents as suggested by the AGP.
