Supreme Court Allows Jharkhand To Impose Power Cuts On Ram Navmi After Ranchi HC Questioned 10-Hour Outages

The Supreme Court modified an order from the Jharkhand High Court on Friday (4 April) permitting the Hemant Soren-led state government to impose temporary power cuts along the routes of Ram Navmi processions.

In Jharkhand, power outages have been a common occurrence along the procession paths during celebrations such as Sarhul and Ram Navmi to prevent electrocutions, TNIE reported.

However, this time, taking suo motto cognisance, the Jharkhand High Court had previously instructed the state government to avoid lengthy power cuts unless absolutely necessary.

The apex court bench, consisting of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justices Sanjay Kumar, and KV Viswanathan, recognised that this safety protocol has been in place for over 20 years.

Kapil Sibal, a senior advocate representing the state government, highlighted that devotees often carry long flags which could potentially touch overhead electric wires, thereby causing serious risks.

The state government was directed by the Supreme Court to reduce power outages and limit them to procession routes. The court also required that hospitals receive a continuous power supply.

Earlier, the Managing Director of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) was ordered by the High Court to provide a guarantee that power cuts will be short and will not disrupt essential services.

The situation came to light when the High Court initiated action on its own accord regarding the extended power outages that occurred during festival processions in Ranchi on Thursday.

The judiciary questioned the authority under which they are disconnecting the power supply for extended periods exceeding 10 hours during processions, and what substitute solutions are being implemented to address the issues encountered by the general public due to these power outages.