The Madras High Court on Monday permitted the Tamil Nadu government to conduct the Formula 4 night street racing event in the city by imposing certain conditions such as giving utmost importance to public safety.
A division bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq gave the direction while disposing of a batch of Public Interest Litigations which challenged the decision of the state government to hold the race, citing safety issues.
Declining to stall the conduct of the event, the bench said the Formula 4 Race proposed to be conducted in the Chennai Racing Circuit is permitted to be held on the dates to be decided by the state government in consultation with the stakeholders.
It termed as ‘specious, preposterous and a mere bluster’, the contention that motor racing is not a sport but an entertainment.
In its order, the bench said, “The state government shall ensure that the street race in the 3.7 km circuit as stipulated, shall be carried on, with highest degree of public safety and avoiding inconvenience to the public, especially the in-patients of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Madras Medical College, and Omandurar Government Multi-speciality Hospital.”
“This can be ensured by installing necessary silencing equipment like sound silence panels, acoustic sound panel for noise control in the hospitals during the time of the racing events,” it added.
The court also directed the Racing Promotion Private Ltd (RPPL) to ensure that all public viewers are provided necessary protective gear for their safety during the event.
“The RPPL shall reimburse the expenditure made by the state government (i.e.) Rs 42 crores from the public exchequer, to them, prior to the conduct of the event,” it said.
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The bench further said the state government must ensure that RPPL or anyone should deposit in advance the stipulated expenditure of Rs.15 crores for holding the car race in Chennai during the next two years.
The RPPL cannot expect anything more than facilitation as well as arrangements along with co-ordination and co-operation of the state authorities, and the expenditure for the event will have to be completely borne out only by the RPPL, it observed.
The State was expected to take upon itself the responsibility of conducting such an event in furtherance of its policy to encourage the racing sport and seek the support of private bodies having experience and expertise in the field. This will ensure fairness and also dispel any doubt as to mala fides in distribution of the State largesse, it added.
The M K Stalin-led DMK government had allotted Rs 42 crore for conducting the event, which was scheduled to be held in December last year at the Island grounds near Marina beach in the state capital. However, it was postponed due to floods in the city triggered by cyclone ‘Michaung’.
