HC fixes final hearing of PIL on Shivaji Park ground on Mar 31

The Bombay High Court today posted for March 31 the final hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) which sought its ruling on the issue whether the iconic Shivaji Park at Dadar should be used as a playground or as a recreation ground.
The PIL is pending since 2009 and from time to time the HC has passed orders on permitting or not permitting organisations from holding programmes in this ground.
On February 23, a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anil Menon had directed the Registry to clarify why its office had put a remark that the matter will come up before another bench headed by Justice Dharmadhikari despite the PIL being assigned to it by the Chief Justice.

The judges today took on record a letter of March 4 wherein Chief Justice Mohit Shah had assigned the PIL for hearing to this bench.
On February 12, the bench, while rejecting a petition by International Society for Krishna Consciousness seeking to hold the Jagannath Rath Yatra on February 21 at Shivaji Park, had held that the Yatra cannot be permitted at the cost of violating the court's earlier order forbidding use of the Park for non-sport activities.
According to the counsel for Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, S U Kamdar, the May 2010 HC order, passed in this pending PIL filed by Wecom Trust directing the Park to be notified as a silence zone had cited three exceptions -- Republic Day, Maharashtra Day and Dr Ambedkar's death anniversary.

While permissions were subsequently granted, the court ultimately ordered that except these three events, other programmes will not be allowed without prior permission of the court.
The judges had ruled that except for exceptions carved out in the May 2010 order, Shivaji Park ground cannot be used for any function other than for the purpose of a playground.
The bench had also said it shall expeditiously take up the final hearing to decide the issue. After a gap of nearly five years, the PIL will be finally heard on March 31.