New Delhi, April 8 The Supreme Court on Tuesday closed a plea filed by the Jharkhand government challenging the Jharkhand High Court order barring power cuts during Ram Navami and other festivals.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar decided to close the proceedings after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Jharkhand government, submitted that the state discom kept power cuts restricted only to procession routes in terms of the previous order of the apex court.
Sibal said that an affidavit of the Managing Director of the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) regarding compliance with the directives issued by the top court will be placed on record.
On Friday, the CJI Khanna-led Bench stressed that power cuts should be kept to a minimum duration during festivals and ordered restricting power cuts be limited to procession routes during Ram Navami this year. It modified the Jharkhand High Court order barring power cuts during Ram Navami and other festivals, clarifying that essential services, including hospitals, must not be affected by the power cuts.
In its special leave petition filed before the Supreme Court, the Jharkhand government had argued that temporary power cuts were a necessary safety measure as long flags carried during processions posed a risk of electric shocks.
The JBVNL has been routinely suspending power supply for several hours on festival days to prevent accidents.
The issue gained attention after a five-to-ten-hour power outage in Ranchi during the Sarhul festival on April 1. Taking suo motu cognisance, a bench of Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Deepak Roshan of Jharkhand High Court on April 3 stayed the state government’s practice, questioning the lack of alternative safety measures and the hardships caused to residents. It expressed concern about the effects of the outages on local businesses, which faced forced closures and revenue losses. Such disruptions, the Jharkhand HC said, not only cause inconvenience to the residents but also pose safety risks.
The Chief Justice Rao-led Bench had ordered the JBVNL not to undertake long power cuts unless absolutely necessary.
Aggrieved with the directives, the Jharkhand government petitioned the Supreme Court, saying that past electrocution incidents during Ram Navami and other religious processions justified these precautionary power cuts.
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