Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a PIL seeking the reopening of Kasturchand Park for sports and recreational activities, observing that a separate PIL concerning the preservation of the historic ground is already pending before the court.A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Rohit Joshi held that there was no justification for entertaining another petition on the same issue while related proceedings were underway.The PIL was filed by Nishank Nayak, who sought directions to the authorities to open the closed gates of Kasturchand Park and allow citizens to use the ground for sports and other recreational activities.During Monday’s hearing, petitioner’s counsel Rajesh Nayak argued that Kasturchand Park was once among Nagpur’s premier football venues and had hosted several state- and national-level football tournaments. He submitted that many players associated with the ground had represented India at the national and international levels and added that the petitioner himself was a local footballer.Taking note of the submission, the court directed the petitioner to furnish a list of football players from Nagpur who had represented the country at the national and international levels.When the matter came up again on Tuesday, the petitioner submitted the list before the court and further informed the bench that hockey matches were also historically played at the venue. The plea for reopening the ground for public sports activities was reiterated.Opposing the petition, Additional Government Pleader Deepak Thakare informed the court that Kasturchand Park is a protected heritage site and that restrictions on entry were imposed to safeguard the monument and its surrounding premises.He further pointed out that the high court had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the preservation and protection of the park and that the related PIL remains pending before the bench. Accepting the submission, the court dismissed the petition.
