Delhi HC dismisses plea challenging DDMA's decision to ban Chhath celebration on banks Yamuna

NEW DELHI:  The high court on Wednesday dismissed a plea that challenged the District Disaster Management Authority’s  (DDMA) decision of prohibiting devotees from performing Chhath Puja on the bank of Yamuna.

The court said that the plea filed by two societies did not specify as to how the devotees insist that they are entitled to perform puja only on the Yamuna banks. “They have not given any explanation as to why they did not approach the respondents if they were desirous of having additional designated sites in the area even after the list of designated sites was made public,” Justice Rekha Palli said, and observed that the petition was only for publicity.

While dismissing the petition, the court said that no order for the creation of additional sites can be passed. The court said that even though Covid-19 has not fully disappeared, the authorities have ensured and taken steps that devotees are not put to inconvenience and that the orders issued take care of religious sentiments of all devotees.

The petitioners had challenged the October 29 DDMA order by which Chhath Puja celebration was permitted in Delhi but certain restrictions were imposed.