New Delhi, Oct. 13 -- The Delhi High Court has held that a "first come, first served" policy cannot be the sole basis for allotting public grounds for Ramleela and other cultural or religious events, observing that the approach may create unequal opportunities for applicants and does not automatically meet the requirements of constitutional fairness.

Justice Amit Mahajan observed that the earliest applicant does not necessarily have the strongest claim to a public facility and directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to review its existing instructions and frame comprehensive annual guidelines for allotment of grounds.

"The determinacy of a criterion and its inherent rationality are two distinct questions," the court o...