The petitioner, Alka Shah, a social worker from Worli, had argued that the marathon would heighten the threat of terror apart from inconveniencing people through traffic diversions.
The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon is here to stay. The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday came in strong defence of the event — to be held on January 17 — by rejecting a petition seeking an interim stay on it.
“Much as you (a citizen) have a right to life, those who want to run the marathon have a right to run,” said a division bench of justices FI Rebello and JH Bhatia.
The petitioner, Alka Shah, a social worker from Worli, had argued that the marathon would heighten the threat of terror apart from inconveniencing people through traffic diversions. Also, the sponsor, Standard Chartered Bank, owed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation over Rs1.3 crore in dues.
The bench said every major city in the world has a culture of marathons and thousands of people participate in these events. “People take some joy and life out of such events. And this (inconvenience) is something everybody has to bear for sometime.”
Rejecting the argument about traffic diversions inconveniencing people, especially those in medical emergency, justice Rebello asked: “On a Sunday morning, how many people step out of their homes to cross the roads?” The petitioner had attached a letter from the Medical Practitioners’ Association, Worli, in support of her argument.
On the threat of terror, the petition said since the marathon attracts about 40,000 participants, corporate heads, and sports and film stars, it would stretch the security apparatus making the city a soft target for terrorists.
The petition also said that in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, the sports authority of the city state earns an income, which is not so in Mumbai. “Here, the event is organised by an event management company and it ends up making a profit. If the Sports Authority of India (SAI) earns something out of the event, we have no objection,” the petitioner’s lawyer, Neville Deboo, argued.
But the court responded wittily, saying: “The SAI has not managed to organise the Olympics in all these years… forget rest of the things.”
The Standard Chartered Bank has to reply in a week.
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