The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday ruled that the venue of the Jaipur Literature Festival will remain unchanged. The event will be held at Diggi Palace even though a public interest litigation the court was hearing said it was too small to host such a large event, NDTV reported. Last year, the location saw a daily footfall of at least 35,000 people, while Diggi Palace can barely accommodate 2,000, risking the possibility of a stampede.

Last week, Ravi Dutt Gaur, the police officer who had raised security concerns and denied permission to hold the event at the heritage hotel, was transferred from Jaipur to Bharatpur, leading to widespread speculations. In his petition, Sanjeev Gupta emphasised how the public was inconvenienced due to the cramped location and that lack of parking space led to traffic congestions, which could endanger the lives of patients in the nearby SMS Hospital.

Diggi Palace, where JLF has been held for the last nine years, was was converted into a heritage hotel 15 years ago. Ram Pratap Diggi, the owner, said security arrangements had been upgraded with the increasing footfall. Jaipur Literature Festival 2016 is scheduled to start on Thursday.