Delhi students petition High Court to shift sports calendar away from hazardous winter pollution

A group of eleven Delhi schoolchildren has approached the Delhi High Court seeking the rescheduling of government-mandated outdoor sporting events away from the peak pollution period of November to January. They have asked the court to stay all such activities during these months, arguing that consistently “severe” and “hazardous” air quality poses a direct threat to their health and violates their fundamental rights.

In their writ petition, the students stated that the annual sports calendar—which includes zonal, inter-zonal, state and national tournaments, trials and coaching camps—should be moved to months with verifiably better ambient air quality. They informed the court that the repeated scheduling of these events in the worst pollution window each year is arbitrary, unreasonable and negligent.

The petition, reviewed by Moneycontrol, asserts that this practice infringes the children’s fundamental rights to life, health and education under Articles 21 and 21A of the Constitution. The students noted that every year Delhi experiences a public health emergency between November and January, with toxic pollution levels, emergency plans such as GRAP-III frequently invoked and the risk of escalation to GRAP-IV ever present.

The petitioners argued that children and athletes are particularly susceptible to pollution-related harm. They stated that strenuous exercise significantly increases air intake and often forces breathing through the mouth, bypassing natural filtration and allowing far greater quantities of PM2.5 to reach deep into the lungs.

Dr Arvind Kumar, Founder Trustee of the Lung Care Foundation, informed the court through the petition that long-term studies have repeatedly shown permanent reductions in lung growth and capacity in children exposed to high PM2.5 levels, effects that persist into adulthood and raise the risk of chronic respiratory disease. He stated that children should be treated as a priority risk group in any decision involving outdoor exposure and added that scheduling competitive events during this period places families in an untenable position, forcing them to choose between health and sporting aspirations.

The petition further states that the Delhi government is fully aware of the dangers posed during these months. The students pointed out that in November 2023 the government was compelled to suspend all sports activities, formally acknowledging the threat to children’s health. They argued that the subsequent reversal of this suspension, followed by repeated scheduling of events in the same hazardous period, amounted to gross negligence.

The petition concludes that holding sporting events during this time of year constitutes a clear violation of the children’s fundamental right to life under Article 21. It emphasises that sports and physical literacy form an essential part of a child’s development, but that the right to clean air, a healthy environment and overall well-being is equally fundamental.