Justice Mahajan also emphasised that continuity and experience should remain a relevant consideration, but should not determine the outcome or an automatic right to allotment. The Delhi High Court has directed authorities concerned to frame “comprehensive” policies every year on allotment of Ramlila Maidan for festivals, saying that with the current first-come, first-serve rule was not reasonable.Delhi Police has designated the ground as a protest site, although no detailed SOP has been issued.The order was issued by Justice Amit Mahajan last week and made public on Monday. The court was hearing a plea by Rays of New Beginning Foundation, an NGO, whose application to conduct Dussehra festivities on the ground was rejected by government authorities on the ground that it had already been allotted to another party.The NGO pointed out that as per a Delhi Development Authority’s policy dated September 1, societies that had booked the site in the past will be given preference. The NGO had organised festivities at the ground in 2023 and 2024.Meanwhile, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) submitted that in case of multiple applicants, it decides allotment on a first-come, first-serve basis.Justice Mahajan said, “At first sight, the expression ‘first-come, first-serve’ seems to embody an objective rule, that is, an applicant who approaches the authority first would obtain priority. However, merely because a policy is mechanically ascertainable does not translate to mean that the same is also constitutionally reasonable and in consonance with public policy. The determinacy of a criterion and its inherent rationality are two distinct questions. Consequently, the policy of first-come, first-serve does not find favour with this court…”The court reasoned that such a policy “creates an unequal race for information”, and the first to come cannot mean that they bear the strongest claim to a public facility.Story continues below this adWhile directing the Delhi government to frame comprehensive guidelines each year, the court also laid down a framework.The court underlined that the authority shall publish an “annual site allocation notice identifying the available grounds, their location, area, permitted uses, booking dates, relevant restrictions and applicable charges” at least 90 days before the scheduled event date.It also laid down that all applications for a particular site should be received within a predetermined window of time, and every application should first undergo a common eligibility assessment. The government’s guidelines may also require an applicant to provide a “site-specific operational plan”, addressing safety arrangements, crowd capacity, ingress and egress, emergency response, fire and electrical safety, etc.The court has also outlined that prior to allotment to a specific applicant, the authorities concerned may consider objections, if any, and in case of multiple eligible applicants, authorities should undertake a “comparative assessment” based on a predetermined and published scoring matrix.Story continues below this adJustice Mahajan also emphasised that continuity and experience should remain a relevant consideration, but should not determine the outcome or an automatic right to allotment. Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:delhi high courtDelhi Police