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Alarmed by the worsening air quality during Delhi's winter months, a group of minor schoolchildren has moved the Delhi High Court seeking a halt to all outdoor sports trials and tournaments scheduled between November and January when pollution levels in the capital routinely fall into the 'severe' and 'hazardous' categories.
The petition, Nyasa Bedi & Ors. vs Government of NCT of Delhi, has been filed through the children's guardians and filed by advocates Manjira Dasgupta, Bhargav Ravindran Thali, and Mayank Khaitan on behalf of the petitioners. The plea contends that despite clear scientific warnings and data available in the public domain, authorities continue year after year to hold zonal, inter-zonal, state-level and national-level outdoor sports events, coaching camps and trials at a time when the air is highly toxic. This, the petitioners say, endangers thousands of children who are recognised as a "vulnerable group". According to the petition, Delhi undergoes an annual public-health crisis from November to January, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) frequently touching the 'Severe' band and triggering GRAP-III emergency measures, with the possibility of escalation to GRAP-IV. Forcing children to undertake strenuous physical activity in such conditions, the plea states, violates their Fundamental Right to Life, Health and Education under Articles 21 and 21A of the Constitution. Relying on medical studies and expert assessments from national and global health bodies, the petition warns that exposure to extreme particulate pollution results in irreversible harm to children, including diminished lung development, cognitive impairment and cardiovascular stress. The petitioners further point out that in November 2023, the Delhi government itself suspended all sports activities due to threats to the "health and security of students/children", yet later revoked the suspension and resumed events without addressing the environmental risks. Calling the scheduling of outdoor sports during peak pollution months "arbitrary, unreasonable and negligent", the plea argues that the authorities' actions also run contrary to constitutional directives under Articles 39 and 47, as well as the policy objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP). The students have therefore requested the High Court to direct the government to restructure the annual sports calendar so that trials, tournaments and camps are not held during the most polluted months, thereby preventing permanent and irreversible harm to child athletes. The matter is expected to be listed for hearing soon. (ANI)
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