[Chhath Puja] Delhi High Court lauds Delhi govt steps; junks plea to perform Puja on banks of Yamuna

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected a plea challenging notification passed by District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and the Delhi government prohibiting conduct of chhath puja on the banks of river Yamuna in the national capital [Chhath Puja Samaj Sudhar Samidhi, Sonia Vihar v UOI]..Justice Rekha Palli observed that the petitioner has not been able to point out that the devotees have a right to insist on performing chhath puja on the banks of river Yamuna. "The petitioner has not pointed out any right as to how the devotees are entitled to insist that they are supposed to perform chhath puja only on the banks of Yamuna," the Court said.The Court also noted that the Delhi government has provided adequate alternative sites for performing chhath puja despite the COVID situation and those sites were notified well in advance. It, therefore, appreciated the efforts made by the respondents to respect the religious sentiments of people, even during the ongoing pandemic."There is no attempt on part of the respondent in the said order to curtail the rights of the citizens, instead they have taken care of devotees religious sentiments by taking steps to declare sites for performance of chhath puja, even though Covid has not disappeared completely," the Court said rejecting the plea..The petition was filed by two religious societies stating that DDMA and the Delhi government have prohibited them from performing chhath puja on banks of Yamuna River, while declaring alternate sites for chhath puja at Soniabagh and Wazirabad away from their vicinity."The respondents have been unreasonably playing with the sentiments of the devotees of the chhathi mazya for the last few months. The respondents once notified that the people of Delhi will not be allowed to celebrate chhath puja publicly at the public places but later on notified that the people can be allowed to perform chhath puja only at the designated sites but not at the banks of the river Yamuna," the plea contended.The petitioner alleged that by prohibiting them from performing chhath puja on the banks of Yamuna, the respondents were violating the fundamental right of devotees guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 and 25 of the Constitution..Advocate Gautam Narayan appearing for DDMA, vehemently opposed the arguments of the petitioner and informed the Court that there are 800 sites designated by the respondents for chhath puja throughout Delhi out of which only seven fall within the vicinity of Sonia Bagh and Wazirabad.Narayan also informed the court that the designated sites were made public by them on November 6, 2021, and the petitioner never reached out to the respondents before today. He alleged that the present petition has not been filed with bona fide intentions and must be dismissed. "The present petition has not been filed with bona fide intention, rather it has been filed for publicity and needs to be dismissed," said Narayan.The Court after hearing both the parties decided that there was no merit in the arguments of the petitioner and refused to allow the plea.The Court noted that the petitioner did not approach the respondents even after the designated sites in their area were known to everyone. "You are perpetuating a petition that is totally misconceived. As it is, chhath puja has started today and no order for creation of a designated site can be passed now," the Court said..In light of the above, the petition was dismissed.