Summary
The Court set aside a blanket High Court direction prohibiting permission for DJ music. The private writ petition concerned removal of an LCD installation, contained no DJ-related pleading or prayer, and the affected operators had neither been joined nor heard. The ruling did not confer unrestricted permission to play music: operators remained subject to applicable law and the requisite licence or permission.
Issues
- Whether the High Court could impose a general DJ-music restriction beyond the pleadings and prayer in a private writ petition without hearing affected operators.
Held
- A private writ petition brought for a specific cause and relief could not be expanded to decide every issue of general or public importance without relevant pleadings and prayer. The impugned DJ direction dealt with a matter not raised in the petition. (¶ SCR pp. 488–489)
- Before issuing an order of this public importance, the affected parties should have been impleaded at least representatively and given an opportunity to present their case. The operators had neither been parties nor been heard. (¶ SCR p. 489)
- Only direction (iii), concerning the DJ restriction, was quashed. Music or DJ operation remained permissible only in accordance with law and after obtaining the necessary licence or permission from the competent authorities. The connected appeals were allowed on the same basis. (¶ SCR pp. 489–490)
Result
Appeals allowed to the stated extent; direction (iii) quashed, subject to compliance with applicable law and licensing requirements.