Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], August 14 : The Himachal Pradesh High Court has permitted the state government to hold the official State-Level Independence Day function at the playground of Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Barsar in Hamirpur district, but imposed a condition that ₹5 lakh be deposited in the school's Students' Welfare Fund.
The order was passed on August 12 by a division bench comprising Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C Negi, just days before the August 15 celebrations, which are scheduled to be presided over by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
The High Court, however, expressed strong displeasure over the manner in which the state government approached it for permission at the last minute, after preparations for the event had already been undertaken.
The government informed the HC that invitation cards had already been printed and distributed and infrastructure for the function had been set up at the school premises.
The court noted that under an earlier judgment passed in 2017, the premises of educational institutions cannot ordinarily be used for activities unrelated to education or activities connected with the functioning of the institution.
The bench observed that although state-level functions may, in appropriate circumstances, warrant an exception, the government should have approached the court well in advance instead of presenting the matter at the eleventh hour.
The court also took note of the impact on students, observing that the use of the school playground for the state-level function would result in the cancellation of the school's own Independence Day programme.
Despite its reservations, the bench decided not to disrupt the Independence Day ceremony at this stage, taking into consideration the solemn nature of the national event and the fact that preparations were already underway.
"Keeping in view the fact that it is an Independence Day function, it would not be fair on the part of this Court as such, at this stage, to disrupt the solemn ceremony," the bench observed.
The permission has consequently been granted as a one-time exception, subject to the state depositing ₹5 lakh directly into the Students' Welfare Fund of GSSS Barsar.
The order makes clear that the court's decision does not dilute the restrictions governing the use of educational institution premises and should not be treated as a precedent for routinely permitting non-educational activities on school grounds.