Punjab & Haryana HC Rejects PIL To Restore Chandigarh Football Ground As Per International Standards, Says Court Can't Run Administration

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking directions to Chandigarh UT Administration to take immediate remedial steps to restore a Football Stadium, in Sector-17 Chandigarh in conformity with international standards, observing that the court cannot step into the administration's shoes and start running it. A division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel said, “In the considered opinion of this Court, policy matter of football field being of a particular size cannot be gone into when the said Stadium is not open for national and international matches. This Court cannot step into the shoes of the Administration and start running the administration.”The plea filed by one Akshay Attri stated that the entire work for the restoration of the football ground was undertaken with a view to upgrading the Football Stadium for which a huge amount was sanctioned. The plea also sought an order for setting up of a Committee headed by a retired High Court Judge or any other independent agency to investigate the lackadaisical conduct of the respondent Administration and also held the officials responsible for the same. In an earlier order in July 2024, the court had restricted the scope of the petition only with regard to the sporting activities in and around Sector 17, Chandigarh.Counsel for the petitioner contended that instead of the size made available in the said Urban Park for the football field, which is 107 x 17 meters, a larger area should have been made available so that there should be ample buffer space around the football field for enabling the players to properly play football without colliding with the boundary wall.The court noted that the Chandigarh UT Administration informed that due to space constraints, the size of the buffer area in and around the football field is not being provided.Stating that “Court cannot step into the shoes of the Administration and start running the administration” the Court rejected the plea.Mr. Sunil Chadha, Senior Advocate with Mr. Akshay Chadha, Advocate, for the petitionerMr. Himanshu Arora, Advocate for Chandigarh Administration.Title: Lakshay Attri v. Chandigarh Administration and othersCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (PH) 43Click here to read/download the order

Punjab & Haryana HC Rejects PIL To Restore Chandigarh Football Ground As Per International Standards, Says Court Can't Run Administration

Aiman J. Chishti

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