Delhi HC dismisses PIL seeking fixing of dates, time for kite flying

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a PIL seeking direction to the AAP government to fix the dates and timings for kite flying, observing that there cannot be any hard and fast rule for enjoyment of a festival.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said there was no reason to entertain the petition. The bench warned that this was a case fit for imposing cost, but it refrained from doing so.

"How to enjoy a festival is on the wisdom of an individual. There cannot be any hard and fast rule for enjoyment of a festival," it said.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Delhi resident Mohit Ghalyan, an engineer, who suffered an injury to his neck due to Chinese 'manja' (glass coated string used in kite flying) on August 15, 2012.

Terming "absurd" the submission of the petitioner's counsel, Rishi Pal Singh, that kite flying should only be allowed on occasions of Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan, the court said it could not give such a direction.

It added that the court was concerned with violation of law and if anyone sustains injuries due to 'manja' or a kite, the victim can come to the court to seek appropriate relief.

The petition had sought direction to the Delhi government and the Delhi Police commissioner for publication of guidelines for kite flying and banning the use of Chinese string.

Though the Delhi government has already banned production, storage and sale of metal or glass-coated kite strings, the number of incidents of people getting injured due to 'manja' reveal that the ban is only on paper and has not been implemented, it said.

It also referred to various incidents of injuries caused by 'manja' resulting in deaths of people, animals and birds.

The plea mentioned that on August 16 this year, services on the Delhi Metro's Blue Line were affected for around 90 minutes due to a technical snag caused by kite strings.

It was found that too many kite strings had got entangled in the overhead electrification at multiple locations here, endangering the lives of thousands of passengers, it said.