Ram Lila allowed in UP school ground

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Allahabad High Court’s recent order that had stopped the staging of ‘Ram Lila’ inside a school playground in Tundla, Uttar Pradesh.

- FPJ News Service

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh said that the festivities could continue, but children must be allowed to use the ground for playing and sports. “Since festivities have begun, para 1] of the order is stayed, the festivities shall continue [on the] condition that children shall continue to play or pursue sports activities,” the Court said.

On September 22, the Allahabad High Court had passed directions in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging that the school playground was being misused by a Ram Lila Committee. It was told that cement interlocking tiles were being laid to convert the ground into a permanent venue for the event, depriving children of their playground.